Henry Edward Watts (15 October 1826 – 7 November 1904) was a British journalist and author on Spanish topics.

Life

Born at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

on 15 October 1826, he was son of Henry Cecil Watts, head clerk in the police office there, and his wife Emily Weldon. He was educated at a private school in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, and then at

Exeter grammar school Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

. At age 20 he returned to Calcutta. After working as a journalist for some years, Watts went to Australia in search of an elder brother who had gone to the gold-diggings. After an unsuccessful venture in mining, he joined the staff of the ''

Melbourne Argus ''The Argus'' was an Australian daily morning newspaper in Melbourne from 2 June 1846 to 19 January 1957, and was considered to be the general Australian newspaper of record for this period. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most ...

'', and became its editor in 1859. Back in England, Watts worked for a short-lived Liberal newspaper at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, where he contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. He moved on to London, and around 1868 joined the ''Standard'', acting as leader-writer and sub-editor in the colonial and literary departments. At this period he was also home correspondent for the ''Melbourne Argus''. Watts occupied rooms in Pall Mall before settling at 52 Bedford Gardens,

Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Campden ...

. He was an original member of the

Savile Club The Savile Club is a traditional London gentlemen's club founded in 1868. Located in fashionable and historically significant Mayfair, its membership, past and present, include many prominent names. Changing premises Initially calling itself t ...

, and visited Spain with his friend Carlisle Macartney. Unmarried, he died of cancer on 7 November 1904.

Works

Watts is best known for his translation of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' (1888; revised edit. 1895), begun in collaboration with Alexander James Duffield. The first edition contained "a new life" of

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

, whom he idealised, which was expanded and issued separately in 1895. He also wrote a biographical sketch of Cervantes for the " Great Writers series" in 1891, an essay on

Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora ...

for an English edition of ''Pablo de Segovia'' (1892), illustrated by Daniel Vierge, and ''Spain'' (1893) for the " Story of the Nations" series. He was also a contributor to the ''

Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...

'', ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'',''

Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...

'', '' Saturday Review'', and '' St. James's Gazette''.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Henry Edward 1826 births 1904 deaths British male journalists British newspaper editors 19th-century British translators 19th-century British male writers The Argus (Melbourne) people