George Riddell, 1st Baron Riddell
George Allardice Riddell, 1st Baron Riddell (born May 25, 1865 in Duns , Berwickshire , Scotland , † December 5, 1934 ) was a British lawyer and newspaper publisher .
life and work
Riddell studied in London and worked as a lawyer from 1888 . Later he turned to the newspaper business . In 1891 he became the legal advisor to the consortium that bought the News of the World tabloid . Riddell participated in the newspaper and was managing director until 1903. Under his direction, the newspaper's reporting focused on the presentation of police reports of violent crimes and scandals. This enabled him to increase the circulation of the paper considerably. Riddell was also chairman of other newspapers.
In 1909, Riddell was knighted ( Knight Bachelor ) on the recommendation of British Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith . Riddell was a Liberal supporter and a close friend of David Lloyd George , who succeeded Asquith as premier in 1916. During the First World War he was Lloyd George's main advisor and mediated between the government and the press . After the end of World War I, Riddell represented the British press at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference .
For these services he was at the instigation of Lloyd George in 1918 the title of Baronet , of Walton Heath in the County of Surrey , awarded. In 1920 he was finally raised as Baron Riddell, by Walton Heath in the County of Surrey, in the high nobility ( peerage ). Riddell has served as president, chairman, or treasurer on the boards of several nonprofit bodies. He was particularly involved in medical charities. Riddell was the author of several books in the 1920s and 1930s. Riddell kept a diary and published extracts from it in three volumes shortly before the end of his life.
Riddell had a complex character: he was considered bossy, but also considerate, confident in judgment, but always open to discussion. He was interested in making money but not in spending it since he had no particular needs. His clothes were shabby, he drank little, was indifferent to good food, but smoked incessantly. He was hardworking, curious and constantly asked questions without answering questions himself.
family
Riddell was the son of the photographer James Riddell († 1867) and Isabel Young. He married Grace Edith Williams in 1888 and divorced her in 1900. In the same year he married his cousin Annie Molison Allardice, daughter of David William Allardice. Both marriages remained childless. He wanted to keep the divorce from his first wife and his marriage to his cousin a secret. It was not until 1915 that these events came to the public and prevented his impending elevation to the nobility. Finally, King George V could be persuaded in 1920 to give Riddell a title of nobility . Riddell thus became the first divorced peer to enter the House of Lords . With his death, his titles of nobility expired.
Works
- Some things that matter . 1922.
- More Things that Matter. 1925.
- Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake. 1926.
- Looking Round. 1928.
- Medico-Legal Problems. 1929.
- Lord Riddell's War Diary, 1914-18. 1933. ( online )
- Lord Riddell's Intimate Diary of the Peace Conference and After. 1933. ( online )
- More pages from my Diary. 1934. ( online )
Web links
- George Riddell on Spartacus Educational
- George Allardice Riddell, 1st and last Baron Riddell on thepeerage.com
- Lord Riddell's Intimate Diary of the Peace Conference and After 1918-1923 at AbeBooks.co.uk
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Riddell, George, 1st Baron Riddell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Riddell, George Allardice, 1st Baron Riddell |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British newspaper publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 25, 1865 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Duns , Berwickshire , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 5, 1934 |