Charles John Tibbits (31 January 1861 – 7 July 1935) was a British journalist,

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

, and legal writer.

Biography

Born on 31 January 1861 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, the youngest son of George Tibbits, a solicitor, and Mary Myddleton. He was baptised on 30 December 1863 at St John the Baptist's Church, Chester. Tibbits attended Albion House School, Chester, and

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

on 18 October 1880, where he studied to join the Church. After graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1886, he "wandered into journalism" instead, becoming a reporter, sub-editor, then editor of various local newspapers. After three years in local journalism he moved to London "to find fortune". He joined Harmsworth Publications, and rose to become the assistant editor for several years to newspaper magnate

Alfred Harmsworth 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 journal ...

, as well as contributing stories and articles to almost all the London newspapers. In 1895, he was promoted to editor of the '' Weekly Dispatch'' newspaper. Under Tibbits, the newspaper was remodelled, enlarged, and introduced pictures. He was also editor of the short-lived ''Women's Weekly'' newspaper (1896–1900). In 1901, Tibbits and his reporter Charles Windust were convicted for publishing prejudicial articles about an ongoing court case, and were sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. Despite this, Tibbits remained editor of the ''Weekly Dispatch'' until 1903. He continued to write articles on social questions and occasionally short stories for leading magazines and periodicals after this, including a significant article on

tinsel print A tinsel print is a print where tinsel is added after printing, for decorative effect, it is made in two ways. The first is a rare type of old master print parts of which are decorated with small thin shiny fragments of metal or quartz crystal ...

s for the ''

London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and poetry. A number of Nobel Laureates, including Annie Ernaux, Albert Camus, Doris L ...

'' (1903). He later qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, becoming an expert on legal matters in British and American journals. His book ''Marriage Making and Breaking'' (1911) was a contribution to the contemporary debate on reform of divorce law. He died on 7 July 1935 at Barnet,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

Personal life

Tibbits married the author Annie Olive Brazier on 18 January 1896 at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

, London. They lived in Abindon Road,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

by 1898, and moved to

Woodside Park, Barnet Woodside Park is a suburban residential area in the London Borough of Barnet, in the North Finchley postal district of N12. Description The area to the east of the tube station consists predominantly of large Victorian and Edwardian houses, m ...

around 1901. They had a son, Arthur Christopher Tibbits, and two daughters, Eleanor Mary Tibbits and Isabella Margaret Myddleton Tibbits. He was a member of a number of

gentlemen's club A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the ...

s, including the New Vagabonds', Press,

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

, and

Savage Club The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in London, named after the poet, Richard Savage. The club's logo is of an indigenous North American in a feathered headdress. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literat ...

. According to his profile in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'', he enjoyed fishing and chess.

Bibliography

* ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Germany'' (1889) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Ireland'' (1889) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Oriental'' (1889) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Scotland'' (1889) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: English'' (1890) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Russian and Polish'' (1890) * ''Folk-Lore and Legends: Scandinavian'' (1890) * ''Terrible Tales: German'' (1890) * ''Terrible Tales: French'' (1890) * ''Terrible Tales: Italian'' (1890) * ''Terrible Tales: Spanish'' (1890) * ''Archipropheta'' (1906) by

Nicholas Grimald Nicholas Grimald (or Grimoald) (1519–1562) was an English poet and dramatist. Life Nicholas Grimald was born to a modest yeoman family of farmers in 1519–20. His parents are unknown, despite the popular belief that his father was Giovanni B ...

, translated by Tibbits * ''Marriage Making and Marriage Breaking'' (1911)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibbits, Charles John 1861 births 1935 deaths People from Chester Alumni of the University of Oxford 19th-century English journalists English newspaper editors English solicitors English legal writers