National Observer (UK)

For other uses, see National Observer.

The National Observer was a British newspaper published from 1888 to 1897. It began as the Scots Observer and was renamed when it moved from Edinburgh to London in 1889.[1] It was considered "conservative in its political outlook" and "liberal in its literary taste".[1]

William Ernest Henley was the editor from 1889 to 1893, assisted by general manager James Nicol Dunn.[1][2] Henley was recruited by Robert Fitzroy Bell, the major backer of the Observer, and brought in young writers including Rudyard Kipling. The political line was that of Charles Whibley, assistant editor, a diehard Tory. Bell became discouraged by 1894, and sold out.[3] Henley was succeeded by James Edmund Vincent,[4] with Percival Parr as editor.[5]

Writers of fiction published in The National Observer include Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, James Barrie, William Butler Yeats, and Rudyard Kipling.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference EB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Dunn, James Nicol, (12 Oct. 1856–30 June 1919), London Editor Glasgow News since 1914". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u195882. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  3. ^ Wintersgill, Donald. "Bell, Robert Fitzroy". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/100753. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Vincent, James Edmund" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 3. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  5. ^ Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early F.A. Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. Tony Brown, Soccer Data. pp. 112–113. ISBN 1-899468-78-1.Parr had played in the 1880 FA Cup Final.