Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere

The Viscount Rothermere
Lord Rothermere
President of the Air Council
In office
26 November 1917 – 1918
Preceded byThe Viscount Cowdray
Succeeded byThe Lord Weir
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
27 June 1919 – 26 November 1940
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded byEsmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere
Personal details
Born
Harold Sidney Harmsworth

(1868-04-26)26 April 1868
London, England, United Kingdom
Died26 November 1940(1940-11-26) (aged 72)
Bermuda
SpouseMary Lilian Share
Children
  • Harold Alfred Vyvyan St. George Harmsworth (1894–1918)
  • Vere Sidney Tudor Harmsworth (1895–1916)
  • Esmond Cecil Harmsworth (1898–1978)
Parents
Relatives
OccupationPublisher

Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, PC (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940) was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Northcliffe, for the development of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. Rothermere was a pioneer of popular tabloid journalism, and his descendants continue to control the Daily Mail and General Trust.

Two of Rothermere's three sons were killed in action during the First World War and in the 1930s, he advocated peaceful relations between Germany and the United Kingdom, and used his media influence to that end. He became known for his open support for fascism and praise for Nazi Germany and the British Union of Fascists. which contributed to the popularity of those views in the 1930s. After seeing his hopes dashed by the outbreak of the Second World War, he died in Bermuda.