Sir Algernon Marshall Stedman Methuen, Baronet (; 23 February 185620 September 1924) was an English

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and French. He is best known for founding the publishing company Methuen & Co.

Background and education

Methuen was born as Algernon Methuen Marshall Stedman in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the third son of John Buck Stedman,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

, and Jane Elizabeth née Marshall. He was educated at Berkhamsted School and then

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, from which he graduated with an MA.

Career

After graduating from Oxford, Methuen entered teaching, and rose to become head of High Croft Preparatory School at Milford in Surrey from 1890 to 1895.Obituary of Sir Algernon Methuen. The ''Times'', Monday, 22 September 1924; page 18. Issue 43763. While teaching he began, as a sideline, writing a number of school textbooks under the '' nom-de-plume'' A. W. S. Methuen, of which his series on French, Greek and Latin were best known. Among his works were books on gardening and current affairs. In June 1889, Methuen began to publish and market his own textbooks under the label Methuen & Co. (later Methuen Publishing Ltd.). Two months later he formally adopted Methuen as his surname. His first success at publishing came in 1892 with the publication of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's '' Barrack-Room Ballads''. He later published works by

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc ( ; ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a French-English writer, politician, and historian. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic fait ...

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, and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. Methuen was an outspoken critic of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. He stood for Parliament as the Liberal party candidate for the seat of

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

in the General Election of January 1910. The seat was a safe

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

seat and he was unsuccessful. In 1916, he was created a baronet, of

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

in Surrey, and he later published his own

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

.
Cambridge University "Janus"''Cambridge Encyclopedia'' Vol. 68
The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library

Personal life

Methuen married Emily Caroline Bedford in 1884. He died in September 1924, aged 68, when the baronetcy became extinct.

Background and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading