''The Morning Chronicle'' was a

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English lan ...

as a political reporter and the first steady employer of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

as a journalist. It was the first newspaper to employ a salaried woman journalist

Eliza Lynn Linton Eliza Lynn Linton (10 February 1822 – 14 July 1898) was the first female salaried journalist in Britain and the author of over 20 novels. Despite her path-breaking role as an independent woman, many of her essays took a strong anti-feminist s ...

; for publishing the articles by

Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine ''Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...

that were collected and published in book format in 1851 as ''

London Labour and the London Poor ''London Labour and the London Poor'' is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s, he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the ''Morning Chronicle'' ...

''; and for publishing other major writers, such as

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

. The newspaper published under various owners until 1862, when its publication was suspended, with two subsequent attempts at continued publication. From 28 June 1769 to March 1789 it was published under the name ''The Morning Chronicle, and London Advertiser''. From 1789 to its final publication in 1865, it was published under the name ''The Morning Chronicle''.

Founding

The ''Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser'' was founded in 1769 by William Woodfall as publisher, editor, and reporter. From 1769 to 1789 the editor was William Woodfall. (In 1789 he sold his interest in the ''Morning Chronicle'' and in the same year founded ''The Diary, or Woodfall's Register'', which was the first to fully report on proceedings in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as a regular feature. Since note-taking was prohibited, he worked from memory, at least to the extent of writing notes outside the chamber.) Woodfall's journalism slanted toward the Whig party in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. Newspapers of the time were subject to persecution by the government, and in typical fashion Woodfall was convicted of libel and spent a year in

Newgate prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

in 1779; a similar fate also befell some of his successors.

Later owners and reporters

The ''Chronicle'' was bought by James Perry in 1789, bringing the journal firmly down on the Whig side against the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

-owned ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

''. Circulation increased, and by 1810, the typical sale was 7,000 copies. The content often came from journalists labelled as

radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, a dangerous connotation in the aftermath of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. From 1801 the former United Irishman

Peter Finnerty Peter Finnerty (1766?–11 May 1822) was an Irish printer, publisher, and journalist in both Dublin and London associated with radical, reform and democratic causes. In Dublin, he was a committed United Irishman, but was imprisoned in the cours ...

combined reporting for the ''Chronicle'' on Parliament with active participation in the election campaigns of Sir Francis Burdett (1802 and 1804);

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', ''The ...

, the Irish playwright and satirist (1807); and the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and proponent of minimum wages, Samuel Whitbread (1811). As a war correspondent in 1809 he reported on the disasters of the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...

, laying blame at the feet of Lord Castlereagh. 1811 Castlereagh succeeded in having him imprisoned for libel.

joined to report on Parliament in 1813, by which time several charges of

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

and

seditious libel Sedition and seditious libel were criminal offences under English common law, and are still criminal offences in Canada. Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection ...

had been levelled against the newspaper and its contributors at one time or another, Perry being sentenced to three months in gaol in 1798. Woodfall died in 1803. Perry was succeeded by John Black, probably in 1817 when Perry developed a severe illness. It was Black who later employed Dickens, Mayhew, and

. William Innel(l) Clement (the owner of several titles) purchased the Morning Chronicle on the death of James Perry in 1821 for £42,000, raising most of the purchase money by bills. The transaction involved him with Messrs. Hurst & Robinson, the publishers, and their bankruptcy in 1825 hit him very hard. After losing annually on the Morning Chronicle, Clement sold it to John Easthope in 1834 for £16,500.

began reporting for the ''Chronicle'' in 1834. It was in this medium that he also began publishing short stories under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

"Boz". The articles by

were published in 1849, accompanied by similar articles about other regions of the country, written by other journalists.

joined the newspaper in 1849 and, in doing so, became the UK's first salaried woman journalist on a daily newspaper. ''The Morning Chronicle'' was suspended with the 21 December 1862 issue and resumed with the 9 January 1864 issue. Then it was suspended again with the 10 January 1864 issue and again resumed with the 2 March 1865 issue.

Editors

:1769: William Woodfall :1789: James Perry :1817: John Black :1834: Andrew Doyle :1848: John Douglas Cook

Letters from Sydney, 1829

A series of letters, penned by

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...

, actually in prison at the time for the abduction of a minor but purporting to come from a gentleman settler in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, were published in the ''Chronicle'' in 1829. Each was dubbed "A letter from Sydney". These outlined his theory of systematic colonisation, which were embraced with enthusiasm by

Robert Gouger Robert Gouger (; 26 June 1802 – 4 August 1846) was one of the founders of South Australia and the first Colonial Secretary of South Australia. Early life Gouger was the fifth son of nine children of George Gouger (1763–1802), who was a pr ...

, widely promulgated after being published as a book, and later led to the

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

In Fiction

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

's "Around the World in Eighty Days", ''The Morning Chronicle'' is mentioned among the papers reporting on Phileas Fogg's travel around the world. Verne attributes to the Chronicle a position hostile to Fogg and skeptical of his chances to complete his journey in 80 days.

References

External links

Google Chronology

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morning Chronicle, The London newspapers Publications established in 1769 Publications disestablished in 1862 Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom 1769 establishments in Great Britain 1862 disestablishments in the United Kingdom