Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe

The Right Honourable
The Viscount Northcliffe
The Right Honourable The Viscount Northcliffe
	Photograph by Gertrude Käsebier (1908)
Born	Alfred Charles William Harmsworth; 15 July 1865; Chapelizod, County Dublin, Ireland
Died	14 August 1922 (aged 57); Carlton House Gardens, London, England
Nationality	British
Education	Stamford School
Occupation	Publisher
Title	1st Viscount Northcliffe
Spouse	Mary Elizabeth Milner (m. 1888)
Children	4 (illegitimate)
Parent(s)	Alfred Harmsworth ; Geraldine Mary Maffett
Relatives	The 1st Baron Harmsworth (brother); The 1st Viscount Rothermere (brother); Sir Leicester Harmsworth (brother); Sir Hildebrand Harmsworth (brother); St John Harmsworth (brother)

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 journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era.^[1] Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street."^[2] About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator. He said, "News is something someone wants to suppress. Everything else is advertising."

Lord Northcliffe had a powerful role during the First World War, especially by criticizing the government regarding the Shell Crisis of 1915. He directed a mission to the new ally, the United States, during 1917, and was director of enemy propaganda during 1918.

His Amalgamated Press employed writers such as Arthur Mee and John Hammerton, and its subsidiary, the Educational Book Company, published The Harmsworth Self-Educator, The Children's Encyclopædia, and Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia. Challenging the dominance in popularity of the "penny dreadfuls" among British children, from the 1890s Harmsworth half-penny periodicals, such as Illustrated Chips, would enjoy a virtual monopoly of comics in the UK until the emergence of DC Thomson comics in the 1930s.^[3]

^ Cite error: The named reference Grdn2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lord Beaverbrook, Politicians and the War, 1914–1916 (1928) 1:93.
^ Khoury, George (2004). True Brit: A Celebration of the Great Comic Book Artists of the UK. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 9.

[Grdn2022-1] Cite error: The named reference Grdn2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Lord Beaverbrook, Politicians and the War, 1914–1916 (1928) 1:93.

[3] Khoury, George (2004). True Brit: A Celebration of the Great Comic Book Artists of the UK. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 9.

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The Right Honourable The Viscount Northcliffe
Photograph by Gertrude Käsebier (1908)
Born	Alfred Charles William Harmsworth (1865-07-15)15 July 1865 Chapelizod, County Dublin, Ireland
Died	14 August 1922(1922-08-14) (aged 57) Carlton House Gardens, London, England
Nationality	British
Education	Stamford School
Occupation	Publisher
Title	1st Viscount Northcliffe
Spouse	Mary Elizabeth Milner (m. 1888)
Children	4 (illegitimate)
Parent(s)	Alfred Harmsworth Geraldine Mary Maffett
Relatives	The 1st Baron Harmsworth (brother) The 1st Viscount Rothermere (brother) Sir Leicester Harmsworth (brother) Sir Hildebrand Harmsworth (brother) St John Harmsworth (brother)