1

The Harmsworth Family

Alfred Harmsworth Sr.

Alfred Sr. was the son of Charles Harmsworth, a shopkeeper. At age 17, he graduated from a teachers' training college in Chelsea, England, and began a short-lived career as a teacher. By 1861, he ended up in Dublin as a fourth master at the Royal Hibernian Military School. He was an affable, gallant person, well-spoken and charming, but his life reflected words rather than deeds, style rather than substance, and it was left to the next generation to secure the family's future.

2

Alfred Harmsworth Sr. and Alfred Harmsworth Jr.
1860-1870

Credits:
Ferris, Paul. The House of Northcliffe: The Harmsworths of Fleet Street. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1971.

3

Geraldine Mary (Maffett) Harmsworth:

Geraldine was the daughter of a prominent Dublin land-agent and it was she who became the driving force behind the family. Where Alfred Senior was a dreamer, she was practical and ambitious. It was she who persuaded her husband to become a barrister and this necessitated a move to London. She was dependable and became a pillar of strength for the family as her husband became increasingly melancholic and immersed in his vision of future prospects which never seemed to materialize.

4

Geraldine Mary (Maffett) Harmsworth and Alfred Harmsworth Jr.
Circa 1867

Credits:
Thompson, J. Lee. Northcliffe: Press Baron in Politics 1865-1922. Publisher: John Murray; 1st Edition (2000)

5

The Harmsworth Dynasty

On September 22, 1864, Alfred Harmsworth Senior married Geraldine Mary Maffett at St. Stephen's Church in Dublin, Ireland. They settled into a modest Georgian home called Sunnybank which faced the Liffey River. Fourteen children were born of the marriage of whom eleven survived infancy. And thus began the saga of a remarkable family which was to become one of the most powerful in Britain by the turn of the twentieth century.

6

The Harmsworth Dynasty
Circa Mid 1870s

Credits:
Ferris, Paul. The House of Northcliffe: The Harmsworths of Fleet Street. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1971.
Thompson, J. Lee. Northcliffe: Press Baron in Politics 1865-1922. Publisher: John Murray; 1st Edition (2000)

7

Family Tree: The Children of Alfred and Geraldine Harmsworth

Born at Sunnybank, Chapelizod, Dublin, Ireland
Alfred Charles William, July, 1865
Geraldine Mary, December, 1866
Born at Alexandra Terrace, St. John's Wood, London
Harold Sidney, April, 1868
Cecil, September, 1869

Born at Rose Cottage, Vale of Health, Hampstead Heath
Robert Leicester, November, 1870
Hildebrand, March, 1872
Violet, April, 1873

Born at Grove End Road, St. John's Wood
Charles, December, 1874
St. John, May, 1876

Born at Burghfield, Boundary Road, London
Maud, December, 1877 (deceased as infant)
Christabel, April, 1880
Vyvyan, April, 1881
Muriel, May, 1882 (deceased as infant)
Harry Stanley Giffard (deceased as infant)

8

Harmsworth Family Tree
Circa 1888

Credits:
Ferris, Paul. The House of Northcliffe: The Harmsworths of Fleet Street. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1971.

9

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth was born on July 15th, 1865, at Sunnybank in Chapelizod near Dublin, Ireland. He was named after his father and two grandfathers. His nickname was "Sunny" but he soon became the boss of all the little Harmsworths who were to follow.

10

In the Beginning: Baby Picture of Alfred Harmsworth
Circa 1867

Credits:
Thompson, J. Lee. Northcliffe: Press Baron in Politics 1865-1922. Publisher: John Murray; 1st Edition (2000)

11

Young Alfred Harmsworth
Circa 1890

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright � S.J. Taylor, 1996

12

Early Days: Alfred Harmsworth
Circa 1881

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright � S.J. Taylor, 1996

13

In April of 1888, Alfred married Mary Milner and that same year, using borrowed funds, he launched his first publishing venture entitled Answers to Correspondents. The content was based on Alfred's analysis of the tastes of the reading public of the day. Articles were derived from questions supposedly posed by enquiring readers. The first issue was Number 3 since one had to assume previous publications to generate the questions needed for articles. (Issues Numbers 1 and 2 were published at a later date.)

14

Married Life: Alfred Harmsworth and Mary Milner
1890-1899

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright � S.J. Taylor, 1996
Thompson, J. Lee. Northcliffe: Press Baron in Politics 1865-1922. Publisher: John Murray; 1st Edition (2000)