William Thomas Stead

William Thomas Stead (5 July 1849 - 15 April 1912) was an English journalist. He was born in Darlington, the son of a Congregational minister. is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1849 (MDCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... This article is about the town in England. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ...

Early journalism

He attended Silcoates School in Wakefield, but was early apprenticed in a merchant's office at Newcastle-on-Tyne. He soon gravitated into journalism, and in 1871 became editor of the Darlington Northern Echo. In 1880 he went to London to be assistant editor of the Pall Mall Gazette under John Morley. When Morley was elected to Parliament, he became editor (1883-1889). Silcoates School is a public (private) school in Wakefield, England. ... For other uses, see Wakefield (disambiguation). ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... The Northern Echo is a regional newspaper serving the north-east of England. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newpaper founded in London February 7, 1865. ... John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838 - 1923), known for the first part of his life simply as John Morley, was an English statesman and writer. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications in various media. ...

He made a feature of the Pall Mall extras, and his enterprise and originality exercised a potent influence on contemporary journalism and politics. He also introduced the interview, creating a new dimension in British journalism when he interviewed General Gordon in 1884.^[1]He distinguished himself for his vigorous handling of public affairs, and his brilliant modernity in the presentation of news. However he is also credited as originating the modern journalistic technique of creating a news event rather than just reporting it, as his most famous 'investigation', the Eliza Armstrong case was to demonstrate.^[2] For other uses, see Interview (disambiguation). ... Chinese Gordon as Governor of Sudan Charles George Gordon, C.B. (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator. ...

Eliza Armstrong case

Main article: Eliza Armstrong case

In 1885, he entered upon a crusade against child prostitution by publishing a series of articles entitled The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon. In order to demonstrate the truth of his revelations, he arranged the 'purchase' of the thirteen-year-old daughter of a chimney sweep, Eliza Armstrong. The Eliza Armstrong case was a major scandal in the United Kingdom involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. ... The Optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography to the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the prostitution of children or child prostitution is the practice whereby a child is used by others for sexual activities in return for remuneration or any... The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon was a series of highly controversial newspaper articles on child prostitution that appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette in July 1885. ... Chimney sweep in the 1850s A chimney sweep, or a climbing boy, is a person who cleans chimneys for a living. ... The Eliza Armstrong Case was a major scandal in the United Kingdom involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. ...

Though his action is thought to have furthered the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, it made his position on the paper impossible. In fact, his successful demonstration of the trade's existence led to his conviction and a three-month term of imprisonment at Coldbath Fields and Holloway prisons. He was convicted on grounds that he had failed to first secure permission for the "purchase" from the girl's father. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes was the latest in a twenty-five year series of legislation in the United Kingdom beginnning with the Offences against the Person Act... Coldbath Fields Prison (later also known as Clerkenwell Gaol) was a prison in the Clerkenwell areas of the City of London, originally built during the reign of King James I. It took its name from its historic location in fields near an important well or medicinal spring. ... HM Prison Holloway is a womens prison in the London Borough of Islington, London, United Kingdom. ...

Further career

Memorial plaque in Central Park, New York City

In 1886, he started a campaign against Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet over his nominal exoneration in the Crawford scandal. The campaign ultimately contributed to Dilke's misguided attempt to clear his name and consequent ruin. Sir Charles Dilke Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet (September 4, 1843 - January 26, 1911) was an English politician, son of Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet. ...

On leaving the Pall Mall he founded the monthly Review of Reviews (1890), and his abundant energy and facile pen found scope in many other directions in journalism of an advanced humanitarian type. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Humanitarianism is the view that all people should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings, and that advancing the well-being of humanity is a noble goal. ...

He started cheap reprints (Penny Poets and Prose Classics, etc.), conducted a spiritualistic organ, called Borderland (1893-1897), in which he gave full play to his interest in psychical research; and became an enthusiastic supporter of the peace movement, and of many other movements, popular and unpopular, in which he impressed the public generally as an extreme visionary, though his practical energy was recognized by a considerable circle of admirers and pupils. This article is about the religion. ...

With all his unpopularity, and all the suspicion and opposition engendered by his methods, his personality remained a forceful one both in public and private life. He was an early imperialist dreamer, whose influence on Cecil Rhodes in South Africa remained of primary importance; and many politicians and statesmen, who on most subjects were completely at variance with his ideas, nevertheless owed something to them. Rhodes made him his confidant, and was inspired in his will by his suggestions; and Stead was intended to be one of Rhodes's executors. At the time of the Second Boer War he threw himself into the Boer cause and attacked the government with characteristic violence. His name was struck out (see his Last Will and Testament of C. J. Rhodes, 1902). Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes, PC, DCL, (July 5, 1853 – March 26, 1902[1]) was a British-born South African businessman, mining magnate, and politician. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State South African Republic Commanders Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts Paul Kruger Louis Botha Koos de la Rey Martinus Steyn Christiaan de Wet Casualties 6,000 - 7,000 (A further ~14,000 from disease) 6,000 - 8,000 (Unknown number from disease) Civilians...

The number of his publications gradually became very large, as he wrote with facility and sensational fervour on all sorts of subjects, from The Truth about Russia (1888) to If Christ Came to Chicago! (1894), and from Mrs Booth (1900) to The Americanization of the World (1902).

Stead was a true^{[citation needed]} pacifist and campaigner for peace. He extensively covered the Hague Peace Conference of 1899 and 1907 (for the last he printed a daily paper during the four month conference). He has a bust at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Stead was an Esperantist, and often supported the language in a monthly column in Review of Reviews.^[3] The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of international law. ... The Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis in Dutch), situated in The Hague, Netherlands, is often called the seat of international law because it houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the... Hague redirects here. ... An Esperantist is a person who participates in the diffusion of Esperanto. ...

Spiritualism

Stead claimed to be in receipt of messages from the spirit-world, and to be able to produce automatic writing. His spirit contact was alleged to be a girl named Julia. In 1909 he established Julia's Bureau where inquirers could obtain information about the spirit world from a group of resident mediums. In many of his spiritualist lectures and writings Stead sketched pictures of ocean liners and himself drowning. Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... In spirituality, a medium or spirit medium (plural mediums) is an individual who possesses the ability to receive messages from spirits (discorporate entities), or claims that he or she can channel such entities — that is, write or speak in the voice of these entities rather than in the mediums... This article is about the religion. ...

After his death, a group of his admirers founded a Spiritualist organization in Chicago, Illinois called the William T. Stead Memorial Center. The resident Pastor and Medium was Mrs. Cecil M. Cook. Most of the many books published by the Center were written by the Wisconsin-born journalist and author Lloyd Kenyon Jones. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Lloyd Kenyon Jones was a newspaper journalist, lecturer, and author who was raised in Wisconsin and became associated with the religion of Spiritualism during the early 20th century. ...

Death on the Titanic

Stead boarded the RMS Titanic for a visit to America to take part in a peace congress at Carnegie Hall at the request of William Howard Taft. After the ship struck the iceberg, Stead helped several women and children into the lifeboats. After all the boats had gone, Stead went into the 1st Class Smoking Room, where he was last seen sitting in a leather chair and reading a book. For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street. ... For other persons named William Howard Taft, see William Howard Taft (disambiguation). ...

A later sighting of Stead, by survivor Philip Mock, has him clinging to a raft with John Jacob Astor IV."Their feet became frozen," reported Mock, "and they were compelled to release their hold. Both were drowned." This story was proven false because Astor was crushed to death when the 1st funnel fell. [1] John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American millionaire businessman, inventor, writer, a member of the prominent Astor family, and a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War. ...

Stead had made two possible premonitions concerning the Titanic. On 22 March 1886, he published an article named "How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid-Atlantic, by a Survivor" [2], where a steamer collides with another ship, with high loss of life due to lack of lifeboats. Stead had added "This is exactly what might take place and will take place if liners are sent to sea short of boats". In 1892, Stead published a story called From the Old World to the New [3], in which a White Star Line vessel, the Majestic, rescues survivors of another ship that collided with an iceberg. is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see White star. ... For other uses, see Iceberg (disambiguation). ...

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

Bar in his honour

Green plaque on Stead's house in Smith Square, Westminster

A Lloyds No.1 bar named the William Stead was opened in Darlington on 21 August 2006 in honour of the Northern Echo writer (the Northern Echo building is directly opposite the bar).^[4] The bar features a plaque by the main entrance which commemorates the achievements of William Stead. A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... Smith Square is a square located in Westminster, part of the City of Westminster in London, which is notable for St. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... The Moon Under Water in Hounslow J. D. Wetherspoon plc (LSE: JDW) (commonly referred to as Wetherspoons or spoons) is a British pub chain founded by Tim Martin. ... This article is about the town in England. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Stop the War Committee

The Stop the War Committee was an anti-war organisation which opposed the Second Boer War. ...

References

• Underwood, Peter (1978). Dictionary of the Supernatural. London: George G. Harrap & Co.. ISBN 0-245-52784-2. 

External links

• The W. T. Stead Resource Site
• Encyclopedia Titanica Biography of W. T. Stead
• William Stead: unscrupulous journalist or moral crusader? article by Roy Hattersley
• NewsStead: A Journal of History and Literature