William Jerdan
Encyclopedia
William Jerdan Scottish
journalist
, was born at Kelso, Scotland
.
During the years between 1799 and 1806, he spent short periods in a country lawyer's office, a London West India merchant's counting house
, an Edinburgh solicitor's chambers, and held the position of surgeon's mate on board H.M. guardship Gladiator
in Portsmouth
Harbour, under his uncle, who was surgeon.
He went to London in 1806 and became a newspaper reporter. He was in the lobby of the House of Commons
on 11 May 1812, when Spencer Perceval
was shot, and was the first to seize the assassin. By 1812, he had become editor of The Sun
, a semi-official Tory
paper; he occasionally inserted literary articles, then quite an unusual proceeding; but a quarrel with the chief proprietor brought that engagement to a close in 1817. He passed next to the editor's chair of the Literary Gazette, which he conducted with success for thirty-four years.
Jerdan's position as editor brought him into contact with many distinguished writers. An account of his friends, among whom Canning
was a special intimate, is to be found in his Men I have Known (1866); the men featured in the book include William Buckland
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
, and William Wordsworth
. When Jerdan retired in 1850 from the editorship of the Literary Gazette, his pecuniary affairs were far from satisfactory. A testimonial of over £900 was subscribed by his friends; and in 1853 a government pension of 100 guineas was conferred on him by Lord Aberdeen
. He published his Autobiography in 1852-1853.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, was born at Kelso, Scotland
Kelso, Scotland
Kelso is a market town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence...
.
During the years between 1799 and 1806, he spent short periods in a country lawyer's office, a London West India merchant's counting house
Counting house
A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building, room, office or suite in which a business firm carries on operations, particularly accounting. By a synecdoche, it has come to mean the accounting operations of a firm, however housed...
, an Edinburgh solicitor's chambers, and held the position of surgeon's mate on board H.M. guardship Gladiator
HMS Gladiator (1783)
HMS Gladiator was a 44-gun fifth-rate Roebuck-class ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 20 January 1783 by Henry Adams of Bucklers Hard. She spent her entire career on harbour service, never putting to sea. Even so, her crew earned prize money for the seizure of two Russian and five...
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
Harbour, under his uncle, who was surgeon.
He went to London in 1806 and became a newspaper reporter. He was in the lobby of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on 11 May 1812, when Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
was shot, and was the first to seize the assassin. By 1812, he had become editor of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, a semi-official Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
paper; he occasionally inserted literary articles, then quite an unusual proceeding; but a quarrel with the chief proprietor brought that engagement to a close in 1817. He passed next to the editor's chair of the Literary Gazette, which he conducted with success for thirty-four years.
Jerdan's position as editor brought him into contact with many distinguished writers. An account of his friends, among whom Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
was a special intimate, is to be found in his Men I have Known (1866); the men featured in the book include William Buckland
William Buckland
The Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, and William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
. When Jerdan retired in 1850 from the editorship of the Literary Gazette, his pecuniary affairs were far from satisfactory. A testimonial of over £900 was subscribed by his friends; and in 1853 a government pension of 100 guineas was conferred on him by Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
. He published his Autobiography in 1852-1853.
Further reading
- "William Jerdan" in The Maclise Portrait-Gallery