Edward Cave, (February 27, 1691 – January 10, 1754), was anEnglishprinter,editor andpublisher. InThe Gentleman's Magazine he made the first general-interest "magazine".
The son of acobbler, Cave was born inNewton nearRugby, Warwickshire and attended the grammar school there. Cave was made to leave after it was said he stole from theheadmaster. He worked at a number of different jobs, such as sellingtimber, writing and printing. He came up with the idea of aperiodical that would cover every subject the educated public was interested in, fromcommerce topoetry. He tried to get someLondon printers and booksellers to take up the idea. When no one showed any interest, Cave took on the job by himself.The Gentleman's Magazine was started in 1731 and soon became the most important and most copied periodical of its time. It also made Cave very rich.
Cave was a smart businessman. He gave all his energy to the magazine, and hardly ever left its offices atSt John's Gate, Clerkenwell. He made use of a lot of writers, the most famous wasSamuel Johnson, who was always thankful to Cave for having given him his main job for many years. Cave himself often sent in items to the Magazine under the pen name ofSylvanus Urban.
He also got permission fromLewis Paul for 250spindles for hispatent roller-spinning machine, an early model of thewater frame. In 1742 he bought Marvels Mill atNorthampton and made this into acotton mill. This was probably the first water-poweredspinning mill in the world. This should have made a lot of money, but it did not. It closed about 1761.
Cave suffered fromgout. He is buried at St. James Church,Clerkenwell.