Alfred Harmsworth, Born

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate.

As owner of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era. Lord Beaverbrook said he was “the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street.”

About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator. Northcliffe had a powerful role during the First World War, especially by criticizing the government regarding the Shell Crisis of 1915.

He directed a mission to the new ally, the United States, during 1917, and was director of enemy propaganda during 1918. His Amalgamated Press employed writers such as Arthur Mee and John Hammerton, and its subsidiary, the Educational Book Company, published The Harmsworth Self-Educator, The Children’s Encyclopædia, and Harmsworth’s Universal Encyclopaedia.

Challenging the dominance in popularity of the “penny dreadfuls” among British children, from the 1890s Harmsworth half-penny periodicals, such as Illustrated Chips, would enjoy a virtual monopoly of comics in the UK until the emergence of DC Thomson comics in the 1930s.