George Hogarth

George Hogarth

George Hogarth (6 September 1783 – 12 February 1870) was a Scottish newspaper editor, music critic, and musicologist. He authored several books on opera and Victorian musical life in addition to contributing articles to various publications.

Born in Carfraemill, Scottish Borders, Hogarth studied law at the University of Edinburgh. He practiced law during the first two decades of the 19th century; counting among his clients Sir Walter Scott. He first worked as a music critic for The Harmonicon during the 1820s and early 1830s. From 1846–1866 he worked as a music critic for The Daily News, a paper which was founded by the novelist Charles Dickens. He had previously met Dickens in 1834 while they were both working for the Morning Chronicle. In 1836 Dickens married Hogarth's eldest daughter Catherine. One of his younger daughters, Georgina, was Dickens' housekeeper, adviser, and, after Dickens' death, the editor of 'The Letters Of Charles Dickens From 1833 To 1870. From 1850–1864 Hogarth served as the Royal Philharmonic Society's Secretary. During the last years of his life he worked as an editor for the Evening Chronicle. He died in London in 1870 at the age of 86. He is buried in the Kensal Green Cemetery.

Works

• Lives of celebrated musicians : Beethoven (1800, R. Cocks & Co., London)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism: being a general survey of music, from the earliest period to the present time (1835, J.W. Parker, London)
• Memoirs of the musical drama, Vol. 1 (1838, R. Bentley, London)
• Memoirs of the musical drama, Vol. 2 (1838, R. Bentley, London)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism, Vol. 1 (1838, Da Capo Press, New York)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism, Vol. 2 (1838, Da Capo Press, New York)
• Memoirs of the opera in Italy, France, Germany, and England, Vol. 1 (1851, R. Bentley, London)
• Memoirs of the opera in Italy, France, Germany, and England, Vol. 2 (1851, R. Bentley, London)

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Sources

• John Warrack, "Hogarth, George (1783–1870)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004