Alfred Harmsworth (barrister)

Alfred Harmsworth

Alfred Harmsworth
Born 1837
Chapelizod, Dublin, Ireland, United Kingdom
Died 1889 (aged 51–52)
United Kingdom
Cause of death Cirrhosis
Resting place East Finchley Cemetery
Nationality British
Occupation Barrister
Spouse(s) Geraldine Mary Maffett (1838–1925)

Alfred Harmsworth (1837–1889) was a British barrister, and the father of several of the United Kingdom's leading newspaper proprietors, five of whom were honoured with hereditary titles – two viscounts, one baron and two baronets. Another son designed the iconic bulbous Perrier mineral water bottle.[1]

Early life

Alfred Harmsworth was born in 1837 in Chapelizod, Dublin, the only son of Charles Harmsworth and Hannah Carter.[2]

Family

In September 1864, he married Geraldine Mary Maffett (1838–1925), one of the eight children of William Maffett, a land agent in County Down, and his wife Margaret Finlayson. They lived in Dublin until 1867, when they moved to London, initially to St John's Wood, and later to Hampstead when the family's fortunes declined, in part due to Harmsworth's "fondness for alcohol", although they were always short of money, in part due to having so many children.[2][3]

The Harmsworths had 14 children, three of whom died in infancy:[4]

Christabel was named after the suffragette Christabel Pankhurst, as Harmsworth was an ardent believer in women's suffrage.[3] In 1939, there were five Lady Harmsworths.[4]

Career

Harmsworth was a barrister of the Middle Temple and one of the standing counsel for the Great Northern Railway.[5] He has been described as an "unsuccessful" barrister.[6] It was not until after his death that the press empire created by his sons "really took off".[4]

Death

Harmsworth died in 1889.[2] He is buried at East Finchley Cemetery. He died of cirrhosis of the liver, as did his sons Alfred and Hildebrand, all in their 50s.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Philip E. LaMoreaux; Judy T. Tanner (6 December 2012). Springs and Bottled Waters of the World: Ancient History, Source, Occurrence, Quality and Use. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 108. ISBN 978-3-642-56414-7.
  2. 1 2 3 Boyce, D. George. "Harmsworth, Alfred Charles William, Viscount Northcliffe (1865–1922)". ODNB. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bourne, Richard. (2015). Lords of Fleet Street: The Harmsworth dynasty. Routledge. pp. 122–124. ISBN 978-1-317-40387-6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Thorpe, Andrew, & Richard Toye. (Eds.) (2016). Parliament and politics in the age of Asquith and Lloyd George: The diaries of Cecil Harmsworth, MP, 1909–1922. Camden Fifith Series Volume 50. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 2–4. ISBN 978-1-107-16245-7.
  5. ↑ "Northcliffe, Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Visct." – via Wikisource.
  6. ↑ Magill, Frank N. (Ed.) (5 March 2014). Dictionary of world biography: Volume 8 The 20th Century Go-N. Routledge. p. 1554. ISBN 978-1-317-74060-5.

Further reading

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