Lord Rothermere

Lord Rothermere (1868-1940), newspaper manager and businessman, who established a newspaper publishing empire in Britain with his elder brother, Alfred Harmsworth, Lord Northcliffe.

Harold Sidney Harmsworth was born in London, England, the second son of six. After a brief education in London, he became a tax clerk, working with the British merchant marine. When Harmsworth was 21, he joined his brother Alfred's publishing enterprise as business manager. His financial acumen was well matched to his elder brother's editorial flair. In 1894 the brothers bought the nearly bankrupt Evening News, returning it to profitability within a year. Two years later the brothers founded the London Daily Mail. In 1906 the brothers established the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Corporation, which supplied the Harmsworth publishing empire with newsprint through two world wars. The newspapers owned by the Harmsworth brothers were extremely successful; at one point, Harmsworth’s total worth was estimated to exceed 10 million pounds sterling.

In 1914 Harmsworth bought the Daily Mirror, a pioneer tabloid founded by his brother in 1903. The paper continues to be published today.

Harmsworth was made a baron in March 1914, taking the title of Lord Rothermere. During World War I (1914-1918) he served as air minister of Britain, but he resigned after two of his three sons died from combat wounds. He was made viscount in 1919. After his brother died in 1922, he controlled the entire Harmsworth newspaper publishing enterprise. During World War I and World War II (1939-1945) Harmsworth urged preparedness for a new conflict. He paid the cost of a prototype plane that helped ensure Britain's air supremacy in 1940.

Harmsworth’s newspapers directed attention to the plight of Hungary, which suffered war and revolution following World War I. In the late 1920s Harmsworth was formally asked about his willingness to accept the crown of Hungary if it were offered to him. He refused, content with a decoration of merit.

After World War II broke out, Harmsworth retired to Bermuda in poor health. Upon his death, only about 250,000 pounds of his fortune remained.