Alexander Chancellor
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Alexander Surtees Chancellor,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(4 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was a British journalist and editor. He was the editor of ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' from 1975 to 1984.


Background

Alexander Chancellor was born in 1940 in Dane End, Hertfordshire, of four children born to journalist Christopher Chancellor and his wife, Sylvia (née Paget) Chancellor. He was educated at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and
Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...
.


Career

Chancellor began his career as a journalist with
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, where his father had worked. He was a correspondent in France and Italy. In 1975, he returned to Britain to become the editor of the conservative ''
Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * '' The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
''. He inherited a publication in deep financial crisis, and responded by hiring numerous new contributors, ranging from
Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...
to
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
to
Jennifer Paterson Jennifer Mary Paterson (3 April 1928 – 10 August 1999) was a British celebrity cook, author, actress and television personality who appeared on the television programme '' Two Fat Ladies'' (1996–1999) with Clarissa Dickson Wright. Prior to ...
, and changing the publication's tone, with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' later writing that the magazine went "from a bilious and parochial Tory weekly into an entertaining magazine". Within his first few years as editor, circulation had nearly doubled, from 12,000 to 20,000. In 1981, the magazine was sold, and Chancellor left by the middle of the decade. In 1986, after a spell as deputy editor of ''The'' ''Sunday Telegraph'', he became the first Washington correspondent of the newly-launched quality broadsheet, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
,'' and subsequently launched and edited the paper's first Saturday magazine. In 1993, he spent a year in the United States working as an editor at ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' magazine, where he oversaw the "Talk of the Town" section. During this time, Chancellor reportedly informed his colleagues he had uncovered a great story "a gigantic Christmas tree outside Rockefeller Center". This experience was the basis of a memoir, ''Some Times in America'', which both satirised the ordeal and recorded his deep affection for New York and the United States. It was published in 2000. In 1995, Chancellor returned to ''The Sunday Telegraph'' to help launch a magazine supplement. In 1996, he began writing a column for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', where he remained until January 2012. Two months later, he began to contribute to ''The Spectator'' again, with a column entitled "Long Life". In June 2014, Chancellor became editor of ''
The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...
'' magazine in succession to Richard Ingrams.


Personal life

Chancellor lived in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. In 1964, he married Susanna Debenham, and they had two daughters: model Cecilia Chancellor, and Eliza Chancellor, who married the writer Alexander Waugh, the son of Auberon Waugh. Chancellor was the grandson of Sir John Chancellor, the first
Governor of Southern Rhodesia The governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The governor was appointed by the Crown and acted as the local ...
, and was the uncle of British actress
Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in '' The Hour'' (201 ...
. He was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the
2012 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom, on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on 28 January 2017, aged 77. His final column for ''The Spectator'' was published on the day he died.


References


External links


Journalisted - Articles by Alexander Chancellor

Articles by Chancellor
in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
''
"Tributes to Alexander Chancellor"
''The Oldie''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor, Alexander 1940 births 2017 deaths 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British memoirists 21st-century British journalists Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British expatriates in the United States British male journalists A Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English magazine editors Jolliffe family People educated at Eton College The Guardian journalists The New Yorker editors The Spectator editors