Thornton Leigh Hunt
Encyclopedia
Thornton Leigh Hunt was the first editor of the British daily broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph
.
Hunt was the son of the writer James Leigh Hunt and his wife Marianne, née Kent. As a child he lived in Hampstead
until the age of twelve, when his father moved the family to Italy for three years in order to edit The Liberal
. Though he aspired to become a painter, an allergy to the pigments he was using thwarted Hunt's ambitions, though he did provide eight woodcuts to illustrate his father's poem 'Captain Sword and Captain Pen'.
Lacking the ability to become an artist, Hunt instead took up a career in journalism. He was employed as a sub-editor for the Radical
publication The Constitutional from 1837 until 1838, where he worked alongside William Makepeace Thackeray
and Douglas Jerrold
. In 1838 he went north where he worked as an editor for first the Cheshire Reformer, then the Glasgow Argus. He returned to London in 1840, where for the next several years he contributed to a variety of periodicals, co-founded The Leader with George Henry Lewes
, and wrote a novel, The Foster-Brother: A tale of the War of Chiozza (1845).
In 1855, he was asked by Joseph Moses Levy
to co-edit The Daily Telegraph
with his son Edward Levy-Lawson
. Hunt accepted and despite the initial arrangement he soon emerged for all practical purposes as the editor of the paper, a position he held until his death. A Liberal
, Hunt was cultivated by Lord Palmerston, and developed a close relationship to William Ewart Gladstone
, serving as his journalistic amanuensis
during much of the 1860s. The two men corresponded on a variety of political issues, and were in close contact during the Reform Bill crisis
in the 1860s.
Throughout his life Hunt was often associated with liberal political movements. He was a charter member of the Association for the Promotion of the Repeal of the Taxes on Knowledge and campaigned with the Chartists
and the People's International League. Hunt also engaged in unorthodox social arrangements such as communal living in a phalanstère
. Though married to Katherine Gliddon from 1834 until his death, he became the lover of Agnes Jervis Lewes, the wife of his collaborator on The Leader, and fathered four children with her.
Hunt died in Kilburn, London in 1873. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
next to his father.
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
.
Hunt was the son of the writer James Leigh Hunt and his wife Marianne, née Kent. As a child he lived in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
until the age of twelve, when his father moved the family to Italy for three years in order to edit The Liberal
The Liberal
The Liberal is a UK-based online magazine "dedicated to promoting liberalism around the world". The publication explores liberal attitudes to a range of cultural issues, and encourages a dialogue between liberal politics and the liberal arts...
. Though he aspired to become a painter, an allergy to the pigments he was using thwarted Hunt's ambitions, though he did provide eight woodcuts to illustrate his father's poem 'Captain Sword and Captain Pen'.
Lacking the ability to become an artist, Hunt instead took up a career in journalism. He was employed as a sub-editor for the Radical
Radicals (UK)
The Radicals were a parliamentary political grouping in the United Kingdom in the early to mid 19th century, who drew on earlier ideas of radicalism and helped to transform the Whigs into the Liberal Party.-Background:...
publication The Constitutional from 1837 until 1838, where he worked alongside William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
and Douglas Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist and writer.-Biography:Jerrold was born in London. His father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Douglass moved to Sheerness, where he spent his childhood...
. In 1838 he went north where he worked as an editor for first the Cheshire Reformer, then the Glasgow Argus. He returned to London in 1840, where for the next several years he contributed to a variety of periodicals, co-founded The Leader with George Henry Lewes
George Henry Lewes
George Henry Lewes was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He became part of the mid-Victorian ferment of ideas which encouraged discussion of Darwinism, positivism, and religious scepticism...
, and wrote a novel, The Foster-Brother: A tale of the War of Chiozza (1845).
In 1855, he was asked by Joseph Moses Levy
Joseph Moses Levy
Joseph Moses Levy was a newspaper editor and publisher.The son of Moses Levy and Helena Moses, he was educated at Bruce Castle School, after which he was sent to Germany to learn the printing trade. When he returned to England he established a printing company in Shoe Lane, Fleet Street...
to co-edit The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
with his son Edward Levy-Lawson
Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham
Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham KCVO , known as Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, from 1892 to 1903, was a British newspaper proprietor....
. Hunt accepted and despite the initial arrangement he soon emerged for all practical purposes as the editor of the paper, a position he held until his death. A Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, Hunt was cultivated by Lord Palmerston, and developed a close relationship to William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, serving as his journalistic amanuensis
Amanuensis
Amanuensis is a Latin word adopted in various languages, including English, for certain persons performing a function by hand, either writing down the words of another or performing manual labour...
during much of the 1860s. The two men corresponded on a variety of political issues, and were in close contact during the Reform Bill crisis
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
in the 1860s.
Throughout his life Hunt was often associated with liberal political movements. He was a charter member of the Association for the Promotion of the Repeal of the Taxes on Knowledge and campaigned with the Chartists
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
and the People's International League. Hunt also engaged in unorthodox social arrangements such as communal living in a phalanstère
Phalanstère
A phalanstère was a type of building designed for an utopian community and developed in the early 19th century by Charles Fourier. Based on the idea of a phalanx, this self-contained community ideally consisted of 1500-1600 people working together for mutual benefit...
. Though married to Katherine Gliddon from 1834 until his death, he became the lover of Agnes Jervis Lewes, the wife of his collaborator on The Leader, and fathered four children with her.
Hunt died in Kilburn, London in 1873. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
next to his father.