He was the second son of W.F.A. Delane, a barrister, of an old Irish family, who about 1832 was appointed by Times publisher John Walter II as financial manager of The Times.
While still a boy he attracted Walter's attention, and it was always intended that he should find work on the paper. He received a good general education at private schools and King's College London, and also at Magdalen Hall, Oxford; after taking his degree in 1840 he at once began work on the paper, though later he read for the bar, being called in 1847.
In 1841 he succeeded Thomas Barnes as editor, a post which he occupied for thirty-six years. He from the first obtained the best introductions into society and the chief political circles, and had a position there such as no journalist had previously enjoyed, using his opportunities with a sure intuition for the way in which events would move.
His staff included some of the most brilliant men of the day, (e.g. Eneas Sweetland Dallas), who worked together with a common ideal. The result to the paper, which in those days had hardly any real competitor in English journalism, was an excellence of information which gave it great power. Delane was a man of many interests and great judgment; capable of long application and concentrated attention, with power to seize always on the main point at issue, and rapidly master the essential facts in the most complicated affair.
His general policy was to keep the paper a national organ of opinion above party, but with a tendency to sympathize with the Liberal movements of the day. He admired Palmerston and respected Lord Aberdeen, and was of considerable use to both; and it was Lord Aberdeen himself who, in 1845, told him of the impending repeal of the Corn Laws, an incident round which many incorrect stories have gathered. The history, however, of the events during the thirteen administrations, between then and 1877, in which The Times, and therefore Delane, played an important part cannot here be recapitulated. In 1877 his health gave way, and he retired from the editorship; and on 22 November 1879 he died at his country seat, Ascot Heath House in Berkshire.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Delane, John Thadeus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 943.
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john, thadeus, delane, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, february, 2012, learn, when, remove, this, template, me. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Thadeus Delane 11 October 1817 22 November 1879 editor of The Times London was born in London John Thadeus DelanePortrait by August Schiott 1862BornJohn Thadeus Delane 1817 10 11 11 October 1817 1 London EnglandDied22 November 1879 1879 11 22 aged 62 Ascot Berkshire EnglandEducationKing s College LondonMagdalen Hall OxfordOccupation s Journalist editor He was the second son of W F A Delane a barrister of an old Irish family who about 1832 was appointed by Times publisher John Walter II as financial manager of The Times While still a boy he attracted Walter s attention and it was always intended that he should find work on the paper He received a good general education at private schools and King s College London and also at Magdalen Hall Oxford after taking his degree in 1840 he at once began work on the paper though later he read for the bar being called in 1847 In 1841 he succeeded Thomas Barnes as editor a post which he occupied for thirty six years He from the first obtained the best introductions into society and the chief political circles and had a position there such as no journalist had previously enjoyed using his opportunities with a sure intuition for the way in which events would move His staff included some of the most brilliant men of the day e g Eneas Sweetland Dallas who worked together with a common ideal The result to the paper which in those days had hardly any real competitor in English journalism was an excellence of information which gave it great power Delane was a man of many interests and great judgment capable of long application and concentrated attention with power to seize always on the main point at issue and rapidly master the essential facts in the most complicated affair His general policy was to keep the paper a national organ of opinion above party but with a tendency to sympathize with the Liberal movements of the day He admired Palmerston and respected Lord Aberdeen and was of considerable use to both and it was Lord Aberdeen himself who in 1845 told him of the impending repeal of the Corn Laws an incident round which many incorrect stories have gathered The history however of the events during the thirteen administrations between then and 1877 in which The Times and therefore Delane played an important part cannot here be recapitulated In 1877 his health gave way and he retired from the editorship and on 22 November 1879 he died at his country seat Ascot Heath House in Berkshire A biography by his nephew Arthur Irwin Dasent was published in 1908 References edit The Times Newspaper 11 October 2007 Retrieved 11 October 2014 Delane John Thadeus Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Delane John Thadeus Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 7 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 943 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about John Thadeus Delane Archival material relating to John Thadeus Delane UK National Archives nbsp Media offices Preceded byThomas Barnes Editor of The Times1841 1877 Succeeded byThomas Chenery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Thadeus Delane amp oldid 1211162905, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
