John Davies (publisher)

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John Davies (10 June 1814 – 11 June 1872) co-founded the Australian newspaper The Mercury.

Davies was a Jew born in London, England. He was transported to Hobart, Australia as a convict in August 1831, for ordering candles on someone else's account. His father had been transported to New South Wales only a few years before.

On 5 July 1854 he and Auber George Jones, a Tasmanian pastoralist, published the first edition of The Mercury.^[1]

In 1871 Davies passed the management of The Mercury to his sons.^[2] In June 1872 he opened up the theatre building (which he then owned) to homeless people seeking temporary shelter due to floods. He caught a chill from which he died on 11 June 1872.

Davies' son John played first-class cricket for Tasmania and was thrice Mayor of Hobart.