Ebenezer Syme

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Ebenezer Syme (* 1826 in North Berwick , Scotland ; † March 13, 1860 in St. Kilda , Australia ) was a Scottish-Australian journalist .

Life

Ebenezer Syme, the older brother of David Syme , was born in Scotland in 1826. First he studied theology at the University of St Andrews and traveled as a street preacher through the north of England. At the same time he began to write and in 1851 became the assistant to John Chapman, co-owner of the Westminster Review .

In April 1853, Ebenezer Syme left England, partly for health reasons, and sailed to Australia with his wife Jane Hilton and three young sons. Soon he also wrote there regularly for the newspaper The Argus , until at the end of 1854 he fell out with the owner Edward Wilson because of differences in content. A month later he was employed by the newly founded newspaper The Age . When this venture too threatened to fail, he bought the newspaper at auction in June 1856 for £ 2,000.

Because of his uncompromising commitment to any radical movement of the time, such as the 8-hour working day, free land ownership and free, secular upbringing, he was respected and influential by the working class. However, this made him unpopular with merchants, homeowners and traders. Not least because of this, the financial success of his newspaper failed to materialize. From 1856 to 1859 he was also an elected member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and representative of Loddon .

Syme's health deteriorated noticeably and he was forced to resign from his position as editor and managing director of the newspaper in late 1859. He died at the age of 35 on March 13, 1860 in St Kilda, Melbourne.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b The South Australian Advertiser, Wednesday 21 March 1860. National Library of Australia, p. 3 , accessed on February 24, 2010 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c CE Sayers: Ebenezer Syme . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Syme, Ebenezer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish-Australian journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH North Berwick , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1860
Place of death Melbourne, Australia