Archibald Hugh Tennent Chisholm, (August 17, 1902November 22, 1992) was a British oil executive and journalist who was editor of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' between 1937 and 1940.

Early life

Chisholm was born in 1902. His parents were

Hugh Chisholm Hugh Chisholm ( ; 22 February 1866 – 29 September 1924) was a British journalist. He was the editor of the 10th, 11th and 12th editions of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Life He was born in London, England, a son of Henry Williams Chisho ...

, the editor of the 1911 edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' and

city editor A city editor is a section editor of a newspaper responsible for daily news from a city or metropolitan area. They often work at night to be able to track news that happens at any time and include it in the following day's publication. Regional ...

of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', and Eliza Chisholm (). Chisholm attended

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and subsequently graduated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He played football at Christ Church and later claimed to have played tennis with Helen Wills-Moody. Chisholm was also a member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC).

Oil industry

Chisholm joined the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

in 1928. The

Kuwait Oil Company Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), an oil company headquartered in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, a government-owned holding company. Kuwait was the world's 10th largest petroleum and other liquids producer in ...

was formed in 1934 and the initial agreement with the Kuwaitis was signed by the Kuwaiti Emir

Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Damat Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1885 – 29 January 1950) () was the tenth ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait from 29 March 1921 until his death on 29 January 1950. Biography Ahmad was the son of Jaber II Al-Sabah, who was the eighth r ...

with the geologist Frank Holmes representing the Gulf Oil Corporation and Chisholm representing the

. Their initial agreement had been reached in December 1933 after Traders Ltd. under

George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd, (19 September 1879 – 4 February 1941) was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator who was strongly associated with the " Diehard" wing of the party. From 1937 to 1941, he was chair ...

and Lord Glenconner, who had been in secret negotiations with the emir, were forced out by the new consortium of Holmes's Gulf Oil and Chisholm's Anglo Persian. Chisholm's request to be transferred to London was denied and he subsequently resigned from Anglo Persian in 1936. In 1975 he published a history of the early days of the Kuwaiti oil industry; ''The First Kuwait Oil Concession Agreement: A Record of the Negotiations 1911-1934''. Chisholm returned to the oil industry after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was part of the delegation to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

that argued the case of BP following the

nationalization of the Iranian oil industry The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry () resulted from a movement in the Iranian parliament (Majlis) to seize control of Iran's oil industry, which had been run by private companies, largely controlled by foreign interests. The legisla ...

in 1951. He remained part of BP until 1962 and subsequently served as an adviser to the company until 1972.

Journalism and Second World War

His journalistic career began after his graduation, and he spent two years as a correspondent in London and New York for the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. After the oil industry Chisholm returned to journalism as a leader writer for the ''

'' and became its editor in 1937; a position he held until 1940. It was under Chisholm's editorship that the first

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

gossip column A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities f ...

of financial news was created, called "Men and Matters". Chisholm joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1940 during the Second World War; serving in intelligence in the Middle East. Chisholm had attained the rank of Colonel by the end of the war and was

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

twice. He became friends with the novelist

Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic and publisher. His first wife was Ba ...

during his intelligence work in the war and the pair would frequently dine at the MCC in later years. He received the

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 ...

as part of the Military Division in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

. Chisholm married Josephine Goudge, they married at

St John-at-Hampstead St John-at-Hampstead is a Church of England parish church dedicated to St John the Evangelist (though the original dedication was only refined from St John to this in 1917 by the Bishop of London) in Church Row, Hampstead, London. History Ha ...

in October 1939. The couple had a daughter and son. Goudge died in 1983. Chisholm moved to No. 4 Gainsborough Gardens in Hampstead in 1947. ''

'' wrote in his obituary that Chisholm was 'Tall, distinguished, scholarly ndurbane" and that he was "never happier" than when he entertained friends in The Savoy Grill, with each meal there starting with pink champagne.

Selected publications

* ''The First Kuwait Oil Concession Agreement: A Record of the Negotiations 1911-1934''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Archibald 1902 births 1992 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Anglo-Persian Oil Company Intelligence Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II British businesspeople in the oil industry British newspaper editors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English male journalists Financial Times editors Oil exploration in the Middle East People educated at Westminster School, London Petroleum industry in Kuwait