Charles James Fox BA (c. 1827 – 14 March 1903) was an Australian newspaper editor and owner.

History

Little is known about his early life, but he was raised as a Roman Catholic and graduated with a BA from

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. He emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, and married Mary Ann Toole on 31 October 1866. Fox was the Latin master at

John Lorenzo Young John Lorenzo Young (30 May 1826 in London – 26 July 1881 at sea) was an English-Australian educationalist and founder of the Adelaide Educational Institution. History Young was born in London, a son of John Tonkin Young (1802 – 10 April 1 ...

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Uni ...

from 1868 to 1871 or later. Fox was involved in various Catholic lay organizations. He served as honorary secretary of the committee to erect a memorial to Fr. J. N. Hinteröcker SJ (c. 1820–1872), and succeeded Benjamin Hoare as editor of '' The Irish Harp and Farmers' Herald'' in January 1870. In the newspaper, he notably criticized Bishop Sheil's excommunication of

Mary MacKillop Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ ( in religion Mary of the Cross; 15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister. She was born in Melbourne but is best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with Fr Julian Teniso ...

. As a result, he was ousted from the South Australian Catholic Association, where he had served as both a founding member and president. He retired as editor around August 1875 to focus on an agency he was running at 71

King William Street, Adelaide King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it i ...

. In 1883, he moved to Hobart, Tasmania, where he edited the ''

Tasmanian Mail ''The Mercury'' is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd (DBL), a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of News Corp. The weekend issues of the paper are called ''Mercury on Sa ...

''. He left for New South Wales in June 1888. Fox purchased the '' Northern Argus'' in

Narrabri, New South Wales Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. ...

, where he served as both proprietor and editor. On 29 August 1890, a fire destroyed the building, which was owned by a Mr. Spencer. All of its contents, including a steam engine, two presses, and good quality type, were owned by Fox. Despite rumors, an inquest found no evidence of arson. At the time, Fox had a pending court case in which he was being sued for libel. In May 1899, he was appointed editor of the ''

Cairns Argus The ''Cairns Argus'', from 1911 onward ''Cairns Daily Argus'', was a newspaper published from 1888 to 1918 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. History The newspaper was founded in 1888 by William Graham Henderson (1864, Edinburgh, Scotland - ...

''. He remained in that position until February 1903, when he sprained his ankle in a fall and was hospitalized in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. He died there a week later.

Family

Sir Frank Fox (born 10 August 1874), an author and editor of '' The Lone Hand'' magazine (among other works), was his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Charles James 1820s births 1903 deaths Australian newspaper editors Australian Roman Catholics