Edward Taylor Scott (15 November 1883 – 22 April 1932) was a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, who was editor and briefly co-owner of the ''

Manchester 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 ...

'', and the younger son of its editor-owner C. P. Scott. After a brief spell at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, Ted Scott attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, and eventually took a

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

external degree An external degree is a degree offered by a university to students who have not been required to be physically present within the geographic territory of the institution. These undergraduates may be called ''external students'' and may study at c ...

, having left the LSE to work as private secretary to Sidney Olivier, the governor of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. At the LSE, he lodged with the family of the economist and ''Guardian'' contributor

J. A. Hobson John Atkinson Hobson (6 July 1858 – 1 April 1940) was an English economist and social scientist. Hobson is best known for his writing on imperialism, which influenced Vladimir Lenin, and his theory of underconsumption. His principal and e ...

, and he later married Hobson's daughter Mabel. Scott joined the ''Manchester Guardian'' in 1913 and became its commercial editor and main writer of leaders on economic policy. In the spring of 1915, he joined the army to fight in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1918, he was captured as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

until the end of hostilities. After the war, he rejoined the paper, eventually succeeding his father as editor on 1 July 1929. Scott's most important action as editor was to move the paper from its initial position of support for

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

's National Government towards the opposition. Scott became joint owner of the ''Guardian'' with his brother John after the death of their father on New Year's Day, 1932. Less than four months later, he drowned while sailing on

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

. His death put the future independence of the ''Guardian'' in doubt, as the Scott family struggled to pay the

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

es. He was succeeded as editor by William Percival Crozier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Edward 1883 births 1932 deaths British male journalists Alumni of the London School of Economics The Guardian journalists British newspaper editors