Harry Hananel Marks (9 April 1855 – 21 December 1916) was a British politician and journalist, who founded the ''

Financial News ''Financial News'' is a financial newspaper and news website published in London. It is a weekly newspaper, published by eFinancial News Limited, covering the financial services sector through news, views and extensive people coverage. ''Fin ...

'' in 1884.

Early life

Harry Marks was born in London on 9 April 1855, a younger child of

David Woolf Marks David Woolf Marks (22 November 1811 – 3 May 1909) was a British Hebrew scholar and minister. He was the first religious leader of the West London Synagogue, which seceded from the authority of the Chief Rabbi, where he advocated a quasi-Karait ...

and his wife Cecilia. David Woolf Marks, who came from a London merchant family, was a prominent

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

rabbi at the

West London Synagogue The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS ( he, ק"ק שער ציון, ''Kahal Kadosh Sha'ar Tziyon'', "Holy Congregation Gate of Zion"), is a synagogue and congregation, affiliated to Reform Judaism, near Marble Arch in centr ...

, and the professor of Hebrew at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. Harry's younger brother, Claud Marks, would go on to gain distinction in the Army, being awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

for his service in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Marks attended

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

from 1864 to 1868, followed by a period at the in Brussels, before travelling to the United States, aged 16, in 1871.

United States

After arriving in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publ ...

'' for five years, before later becoming editor of the ''Daily Mining News''. This was his first foray into financial journalism, and there were widespread rumours that he had freely speculated in mining company shares, as well as more scandalous allegations involving seducing and defrauding the widow of one of his former business associates. Whilst in the United States, Marks published ''Leaves from a Reporter's Note-Book'' (1882), which reflected on the life of a newspaper journalist. He also published the sharp satire ''Down with the Jews! Meeting of the Society for Suppressing the Jewish Race'' (1879), which attacked

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

among American politicians. He returned to England in 1883. Whilst still editing the ''Daily Mining News'', Marks founded the London halfpenny ''

Evening News Evening News may refer to: Television news *''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast *'' ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast *''JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast *''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...

'' in 1881 in partnership with Coleridge Kennard; although initially successful, the paper lost most of its circulation by the early 1890s and was eventually sold to

Alfred Harmsworth Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

for £25,000 in 1894.

''Financial News''

Shortly after his return to London, Marks founded the '' Financial and Mining News'' (later simply the ''Financial News'') on 23 January 1884, with financial backing from an American, Colonel

Edward McMurdo Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

. He later floated the paper on the stock market in 1885 at a valuation of £50,000, reconstructing the company in 1890 to raise £100,000, whilst retaining a controlling interest throughout. The ''Financial News'' was a major step forwards for British

financial newspaper The following is a list of daily business newspapers, divided by country and region. International *''Financial Times'' *''The Wall Street Journal'' Top circulation *''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'', Japan - 4,635,000 *''Financial Times'', United Kingd ...

s; it was the first London financial paper to publish on a daily basis, and pioneered a popular, Americanised, accessible style of writing that appealed both to the industry professionals and to small private investors. The ''Financial News'' was active at

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

, exposing a number of fraudulent share schemes as well as playing a part in the corruption scandals that led to the downfall of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Coun ...

in the late 1880s. As a result, it achieved a good reputation for integrity and honesty, widely respected among small investors. His contemporary

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

later summed Marks up as a man of "few scruples and many interests"; nowhere was this more clear than the way in which he exploited his paper's reputation for his own commercial schemes. His first major fraudulent venture was the Rae-Transvaal Gold Mining Company, formed to cash in on a boom in South African mining stocks. Marks had bought a farm in the Transvaal for £10,000, promptly selling it on to a newly created shell company at a notional value of £50,000. He then floated it in January 1887, with the ''Financial News'' stoking up enthusiasm for the stock. As the stock prices inflated, helped by the paper publishing fictional values, Marks sold out; the company was wound up in May 1888, by which time it had become apparent the Rae mine – and the company itself – was worthless. In 1890 he sued two journalists for libel over a pamphlet exposing his involvement in the matter. After an eight-day trial in which Marks' less salubrious past was extensively debated, the jury held that the content of the pamphlet was true, and that publishing it was justified in the public interest; Marks was forced to pay costs.

Political career

Marks's first political venture was in 1889, when he stood as a "Moderate" for election to the newly formed

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

, in the

East Marylebone Marylebone East was a borough constituency located in the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, in London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past th ...

district. Both seats in the district were won by the Moderate candidates, with Marks receiving 1,874 votes and

Horace Farquhar Horace Brand Farquhar, 1st Earl Farquhar, (19 May 1844 – 30 August 1923) was a British financier, courtier and Conservative politician. Background Townsend-Farquhar was born at Goldings near Hertford, the fifth of six sons of Sir Minto Tow ...

1,815; the nearest

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

candidate, Sir Thomas Farrer, received 1,300. He was only a moderately active member, attending most council sessions but a substantially lower proportion of committees. He stood down from the LCC to contest the 1892 general election, where he was the

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

candidate for Bethnal Green North East, running against the Liberal-Labour incumbent, George Howell. Howell won with a comfortable majority of almost six hundred, around 10% of the votes cast. In the council elections of 1895 he was re-elected, to represent St George, Tower Hamlets; later that year, in the 1895 general election he contested the same constituency, narrowly defeating the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

John Williams Benn. His parliamentary election was marred by allegations of

corrupt practices Corrupt practices in English election law includes bribery, treating, undue influence, personation, and aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring personation. English election law Corrupt practices were created in United Kingdom common ...

, though these were dismissed by a court. Marks stood down and did not contest the seat in the 1900 general election, but returned to the Commons in a 1904 by-election as the member for the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

. He defended the seat in the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

, but stood down for the second and final time in 1910, on grounds of ill health.

Later life

Following a stroke in 1909, Marks handed over the editorship of the ''Financial News'' to Ellis Powell, but retained a

controlling interest A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the majo ...

and the post of editor-in-chief. He and Powell frequently clashed over Marks's involvement in the daily running of the paper; Powell later claimed Marks had tried to sell his interest in the paper to a German agent in 1915, but it is unclear how accurate this claim was. Marks died on 21 December 1916, due to complications arising from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

; he had been in poor health since his stroke seven years earlier. His wife Annie had died earlier in the year; he was survived by a son and a daughter, to whom he left an estate valued at £31,000.Epstein (2006)

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * *"Marks, Harry Hananel", in *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Harry 1855 births 1916 deaths British male journalists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 British Jews Writers from London People educated at University College School Journalists from New York City British business and financial journalists Jewish British politicians