Edward Hulton

Edward Hulton (1838–1904) was a British newspaper proprietor in Victorian Manchester. Born the son of a weaver, he was an entrepreneur who established a vast newspaper empire and was the progenitor of a publishing dynasty.

Early life and publishing business

Hulton was born in Manchester on 16 July 1838,

While working as a compositor for The Manchester Guardian (now known as The Guardian), he earned extra income publishing the Sporting Bell, a popular local horse racing tip sheet,

The Sporting Bell ultimately grew into the Sporting Chronicle newspaper Hulton founded in 1871 with financial backing from Edward Overall Bleackley (1831–1898), a local cotton merchant. Sales were boosted by the decision of several local newspapers including The Manchester Guardian to restrict racing coverage to appease the growing anti-gambling sentiment in society. The Sporting Chronicle, a broadsheet which specialised in horse racing and published starting price odds, became the first major national daily sporting newspaper. Hulton's publishing business started off in a basement in Spear Street in Manchester city centre. the current site of The Printworks entertainment complex.

In 1875 Hulton also founded the weekly Athletic News, which covered weekend sports fixtures other than horse racing and supported professional football, The newspapers founded by Hulton survived in some form long after his death. In 1931 the Athletic News merged with the Monday edition of the Sporting Chronicle, which ceased publication in 1983.

Hulton's second son Edward expanded his father's newspaper interests, founding the Manchester Evening Chronicle in 1897, the Daily Dispatch in 1900 and the Daily Sketch tabloid in 1909. Edward sold his publishing business based in London and Manchester, which included a large group of newspapers, for £6 million when he retired in 1923. The newspapers sold included: Sporting Chronicle, Athletic News, Sunday Chronicle, Empire News, Evening Standard, Daily Sketch, Sunday Herald, Daily Dispatch and Manchester Evening Chronicle.

Marriage and children Hulton married Mary Mosley in 1859. Through his son Edward (1869–1925), Hulton is the grandfather of magazine publisher Sir Edward George Warris Hulton (1906–1988), Hulton's daughter Theresa married Portuguese baron Sebastião Clemente de Sousa Deiró, 1st Baron of Sousa Deiró (Ponta Delgada, 17 April 1866 – 1916) in 1894. Hulton's fourth daughter, Dame Margaret, DBE (1867–1950), was the second wife of Baron Strickland, 4th Prime Minister of Malta, marrying him in 1926. Together with Strickland's daughter Mabel Edeline Strickland from his first marriage, the couple founded The Times of Malta.

Death Hulton died in 1904 at the age of 65 in Bucklow, Cheshire, and is buried in Sale Brooklands Cemetery in Sale, Greater Manchester. The net value of his estate was £509,000.