Charles John Tibbits

Charles John Tibbits (31 January 1861 – 7 July 1935) was a British journalist, newspaper editor, and legal writer.[1][2][3]

Biography

Born on 31 January 1861 in Chester, the youngest son of George Tibbits, a solicitor, and Mary née Myddleton.[2] He was baptised on 30 December 1863 at St John the Baptist's Church, Chester.[4]

Tibbits attended Albion House School, Chester,[note 1] and matriculated at Oxford University on 18 October 1880, where he studied to join the Church.[7] After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886,[8] he "wandered into journalism" instead,[7] becoming a reporter, sub-editor, then editor of various local newspapers.[6][9]

After three years in local journalism he moved to London "to find fortune".[7] He joined Harmsworth Publications, and rose to become the assistant editor[3] for several years to newspaper magnate Alfred Harmsworth,[2][9][10] as well as contributing stories and articles to almost all the London newspapers.[6]

In 1895, he was promoted to editor of the Weekly Dispatch newspaper.[3] Under Tibbits, the newspaper was remodelled, enlarged, and introduced pictures.[9] He was also editor of the short-lived Women's Weekly newspaper (1896–1900).[11][12]

In 1901, Tibbits and his reporter Charles Windust were convicted for publishing prejudicial articles about an ongoing court case,[13] and were sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment.[14] Tibbits remained editor of the Weekly Dispatch until 1903.[10] He continued to write articles on social questions and occasionally short stories for leading magazines and periodicals after this,[2] including a significant article on tinsel prints for the London Magazine (1903).[15][16][17]

He later qualified as a solicitor, becoming an expert on legal matters[3] in British and American journals.[2] His book Marriage Making and Breaking (1911) was a contribution to the contemporary debate on reform of divorce law.[10]

He died on 7 July 1935 at Barnet, Hertfordshire.[18]

Personal life

Tibbits married the author[note 2] Annie Olive Brazier on 18 January 1896 at St Marylebone Parish Church, London.[19] They had a son, Arthur Christopher Tibbits,[20] and two daughters, Eleanor Mary Tibbits and Isabella Margaret Myddleton Tibbits.[2][21]

He was a member of a number of gentlemen's clubs, including the New Vagabonds', Press,[7] National Liberal,[22] and Savage Club.[2] According to Who's Who, he enjoyed fishing and chess.[7]

Bibliography

  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Germany (1889)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Ireland (1889)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Oriental (1889)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Scotland (1889)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: English (1890)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Russian and Polish (1890)
  • Folk-Lore and Legends: Scandinavian (1890)
  • Terrible Tales: German (1890)[23]
  • Terrible Tales: French (1890)[23]
  • Terrible Tales: Italian (1890)[23]
  • Terrible Tales: Spanish (1890)[23]
  • Archipropheta (1906) by Nicholas Grimald, translated by Tibbits
  • Marriage Making and Marriage Breaking (1911)

Notes

  1. ^ Tibbits went to Albion House School according to Joseph Foster.[5] Victor Plarr just writes that "he was educated privately",[6] while Who Was Who describes his education before Oxford as "private tuition".[2]
  2. ^ Annie Olive Brazier was a well known story writer.[2][6] As Annie O. Tibbits, she went on to write fourteen sixpenny novels from 1910 to 1927.[10]

References

  1. ^ Nappo, Tommaso (2012). "Tibbits, Charles John". British Biographical Index. De Gruyter. p. 3945. doi:10.1515/9783110914153. ISBN 9783110914153.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tibbits, Charles John". Who Was Who 1929–1940. Vol. 3 (2 ed.). London: Adam & Charles Black. 1967. p. 1352.
  3. ^ a b c d Griffiths, Dennis, ed. (1992). "Tibbits, Charles". The Encyclopedia of the British Press 1422–1992. New York: St Martin's Press. p. 561. ISBN 0312086334.
  4. ^ "England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538–2000: Charles John Tibbits, 30 Dec 1863, Christening". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  5. ^ Foster, Joseph (1893). "Tibbits, Charles John". Oxford Men & Their Colleges. Oxford: James Parker & Co. p. 602.
  6. ^ a b c d Plarr, Victor G., ed. (1899). "Tibbits, Charles John". Men and Women of the Time (15 ed.). London: George Routledge and Sons. p. 1082.
  7. ^ a b c d e Sladen, Douglas (ed.). "Tibbits, Charles John". Who's Who 1898. Vol. 50. London: Adam & Charles Black. p. 764.
  8. ^ Foster, Joseph, ed. (1888). Alumni Oxonienses 1715–1886. Vol. 4. Oxford: Parker and Co. p. 1419.
  9. ^ a b c "Small Talk". The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. 13. London: Ingram Brothers: 501. 15 April 1896.
  10. ^ a b c d Kemp, Sandra (1997). "Tibbits, Mrs Annie O.". Edwardian Fiction: An Oxford Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 387.
  11. ^ "Art and Literature". The Dover Express. 29 July 1898. p. 3.
  12. ^ Beetham, Margaret; Boardman, Kay (2001). Victorian Women's Magazines: An Anthology. Manchester University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-7190-5879-0.
  13. ^ Bridgman, G. F. L., ed. (1962). "R. v. Tibbits and Another". The All England Law Reports Reprint 1900–1903. London: Butterworth & Co. pp. 896–902.
  14. ^ "Conspiracy and Attempt to Interfere with the Due Course of Justice". Prosecution of Offences Acts, 1879 and 1884. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1902. p. 41.
  15. ^ Williams, Charles D. (1 December 1945). "A Further Note on Redington Portraits". Notes and Queries. 189 (11): 236. doi:10.1093/nq/189.11.233. ISSN 1471-6941.
  16. ^ Hindson, Catherine (2015). "Grangerising Theatre's Histories: Spectatorship, the Theatrical Tinsel Picture and the Grangerised Book". Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film. 42 (2): 195–210. doi:10.1177/1748372716643335. hdl:1983/81a57779-5ccf-4c23-bd48-1ed00a88f4bc. ISSN 1748-3727.
  17. ^ Armstrong, James (2019). "Protagonists in Paper: Toy Theatres and the Cultivation of Celebrity". Theatre Notebook. 73 (3): 158–184.
  18. ^ 109: Charles John Tibbits, Register of Deaths, Barnet District, vol. 03A, General Register Office for England and Wales, September 1935, p. 465
  19. ^ "London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1938". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  20. ^ "West Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1936". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  21. ^ "1911 England Census". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  22. ^ "Tibbits, Charles John". Who's Who 1904. London: A. & C. Black. p. 1522.
  23. ^ a b c d "William W. Gibbings' Catalogue of Books". Folk-Lore and Legends: Russian and Polish. October 1890. p. 7.
Media offices
Preceded by Editor of the Weekly Dispatch
1895–1903 		Succeeded by