Michael James Whitty (born 1795, Nicharee,

Duncormick Duncormick or Duncormac () is a rural village and surrounding community located in County Wexford, Ireland. At the time of the 2016 census, the village of Duncormick had a population of 116 people. The village is from Wexford Town, close to t ...

, County Wexford – died 10 June 1873,

Princes Park, Liverpool Prince's Park in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, is a municipal park, south east of Liverpool city centre. In 2009, its status was upgraded to a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage. History The park was originally a private developme ...

) was an Irish-born

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

newspaper editor and proprietor. The son of a farmer, maltster and shipowner in the port of Wexford, his first love was journalism. He was educated at

St Peter's College, Wexford St Peter's College, Wexford is an Irish secondary school and former seminary located in Summerhill, overlooking Wexford town. It is a single-sex school for male pupils. Currently, the school's population is over 770. History Founded in 1811 by ...

. In 1821, he married Mary O'Neill in Dublin. They soon moved to London, and, eventually, to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. After serving eleven years as Chief Constable for Liverpool, he retired on 22 January 1847. He campaigned for the abolition of the Stamp Act under which newspapers were taxed. After the abolition took place, Whitty began publishing the '' Daily Post'' at one penny per copy, undercutting the incumbent best-selling Liverpudlian newspaper, the ''Liverpool Mercury''. Whitty died in 1873 and is buried in

Anfield Cemetery Anfield Cemetery, or the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is located in Anfield, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It lies to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is bounded by Walton Lane (A580 road) to the west, Priory Road to the south, ...

. Journalist

Edward Michael Whitty Edward Michael Whitty (1827–1860) was an English journalist, known for biting parliamentary reporting, and credited for popularising the concept of the "governing classes". Life The son of Michael James Whitty, was born in London, and was edu ...

was his son. Actress Dame

May Whitty May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

was his granddaughter, by another son, William Alfred Whitty.

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* 1795 births 1873 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) People from County Wexford Irish journalists Irish newspaper editors Irish newspaper publishers (people) Burials at Anfield Cemetery 19th-century Irish businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub