Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere (born May 29, 1898 , † July 12, 1978 ) was a British press magnate .

Life

Born the third son of press magnate Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere , Harmsworth was educated at Eton College before serving in the Royal Marine Artillery during World War I. His two older brothers, Harold and Sidney, both died in the war. After the end of the war Harmsworth participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 , where he as aide-de-camp of Prime Minister David Lloyd George served. In the same year he was elected to the House of Commons for the constituency Isle of Thanet (in Kent ) : Harmsworth remained a Member of Parliament until 1929. In January 1920 he married Margaret Hunam Redhead. Before they were divorced in 1938, the marriage had three children; Lorna Peggy Vyvyan Harmsworth (1920–2014), Esmé Mary Gabrielle Harmsworth (1922–2011) and Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere (1925–1998). From 1922 Harmsworth gradually took over the management of the Daily Mail and General Trust , as his father increasingly withdrew from active business life and became more involved in politics. From 1932 he was also chairman of Associated Newspapers , a post he held until 1971. In 1940, after the death of his father, he inherited his title and became the 2nd Viscount Rothermere. In June 1945 he married Ann Geraldine Mary Charteris, the widow of Shane Edward Robert O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill; however, the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.

In 1962 he played a leading role in the so-called " Night of the Long Knives "; At a joint dinner on July 12, Interior Minister Rab Butler briefed him on a major cabinet reshuffle planned by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan . The next day, Lord Rothermere had his Daily Mail report in great detail under the headline “Mac's Master Plan”. Macmillan was then forced to act hastily and unceremoniously dismissed a third of his cabinet members. In 1968 Lord Rothermere married Mary Murchison for the third time. In 1971 he passed the presidency of Associated Newspapers to his son. In 1978 he died at the age of 80.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DR Thorpe: Supermac - The Life of Harold Macmillan. Chatto & Windus, London 2010, p. 521.
  2. ^ The legacy of Macmillan's 'Night of the Long Knives'. BBC , July 6, 2012, accessed January 30, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Harmsworth, Esmond, 2nd Viscount Rothermere
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harmsworth, Esmond Cecil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, member of the House of Commons and the House of Lords
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1898
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1978