Hamilton Fyfe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1869-06-10)10 June 1869 London, England |
| Died | 15 July 1951(1951-07-15) (aged 82) Eastbourne, East Sussex, England |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist and editor |
| Spouse | Eleanor Kelly |
| Relatives | William Hamilton Fyfe (brother) |
Henry Hamilton Fyfe (29 September 1869 – 15 June 1951) was a British journalist and writer who was editor of both the newspapers theDaily Mirror and theDaily Herald.
Born inLondon, and educated atFettes College, Edinburgh.[1] Fyfe was the son of James Hamilton Fyfe, a barrister and journalist, and his wife Mary. He joined the staff ofThe Times at seventeen, where he worked as a reporter and reviewer before becoming secretary to the editor,George Earle Buckle. In 1902 he became editor of theMorning Advertiser, the trade publication of theLicensed Victuallers' Association. Though his attempts to improve the paper soon brought him into conflict with the paper's owners, the disputes attracted the attention of the press tycoonAlfred Harmsworth, who offered Fyfe the opportunity to transform the strugglingDaily Mirror the next year. Fyfe accepted Harmsworth's offer, and converted the paper from a publication catering for women readers into a popular newspaper by the use ofphotojournalism.[2]
In 1907 Fyfe ended his editorship of theDaily Mirror to become a reporter for another Harmsworth publication, theDaily Mail. He gained considerable renown during this period, initially by covering aviation feats such asLouis Blériot's successful crossing of theEnglish Channel. He also coveredVenustiano Carranza's overthrow of theHuerta regime in Mexico as well as the growing tension in Ulster in 1914. At the start of theFirst World War he was sent to France, where he scored further success early on with his reports of theGreat Retreat from Mons. During the war, he filed reports from Russia, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, before aiding Harmsworth (by now Lord Northcliffe) in his propaganda efforts for the British government.[2]
Fyfe's 1920 playThe Kingdom, The Power and The Glory provoked controversy because of itscriticisms of monarchy.[3]
A political leftist, Fyfe nonetheless liked the conservative Northcliffe and enjoyed a good relationship with him until the latter's mental deterioration after the war.[citation needed] After Northcliffe's death in 1922, Fyfe agreed to edit theDaily Herald. During his tenure there, he succeeded in nearly quadrupling the paper's circulation but disputed with the editorial board, which was dominated by members of theTrades Union Congress. In 1926 he quit the editorship to accept a job as a reporter with theDaily Chronicle, working there until the newspaper's merger with theDaily News four years later. During this period, he campaigned unsuccessfully for Parliament as aLabour Party candidate, firstly forSevenoaks in the general election of1929 and then forYeovil in1931.[2] Fyfe's 1940 bookThe Illusion of National Character was a critique of nationalism published by theThinker's Library.[4]
After he quit theDaily Chronicle, Fyfe concentrated on his independent writing. His success as a playwright dated to 1909 with the first performance ofA Modern Aspasia; he also wrote a number of biographies of writers and journalists culminating in his own memoirs,Sixty Years of Fleet Street, which was published two years before his death at a nursing home inSussex.[2]
Works by or aboutHamilton Fyfe atWikisource
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by F. G. Doney | Editor of theMorning Advertiser 1902–1903 | Succeeded by G. W. Talbot |
| Preceded by | Editor of theDaily Mirror 1903-1907 | Succeeded by Alexander Kenealy |
| Preceded by | Editor of theDaily Herald 1922-1926 | Succeeded by |
