Sidney Low

Sir Sidney James Mark Low
Born	(1857-01-22)22 January 1857 Blackheath, UK
Died	14 January 1932(1932-01-14) (aged 74) Kensington, UK
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation(s)	Journalist, Author
Employer	The Standard
Parent	Maximilian Low
Relatives	Barbara Low (sister) A. Maurice Low (brother) Ivy Low Litvinov (niece)

Sir Sidney James Mark Low (22 January 1857 – 14 January 1932) was a British journalist, historian, and essayist.[1][2][3][4][5]

Biography

Low was born to Jewish parents Therese (née Schacherl; 1835–1887) and Maximillian Loewe (1830–1900), who emigrated to Britain from Hungary following the 1848 uprising.[6]

Following education at King's College School, London he went to the University of Oxford. Initially an undergraduate at Pembroke College, he moved to Balliol when he was awarded a Brakenby scholarship.[7] He received a first class degree in modern history in 1879.[7] He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1892.[7]

He was the editor of the St. James's Gazette from 1888 to 1897, and was a leader writer and literary editor for the Standard.[7][8] He was the paper's special correspondent on a number of occasions, covering such events as the visit of the Prince of Wales to India, the coronation of Haakon VII of Norway and the Hague Conference of 1907.[7] From 1901 to 1905 he was an alderman on the London County Council for the Conservative-backed Moderate Party.[7]

During the First World War he was a journalist in France and Italy, and edited the wireless service of the Ministry of Information.[7] He was knighted in 1918.[7]

Low was twice married. In 1887 he married Elsie Davison, who died in 1921. In 1924 his second marriage was to Ebba Cecilia Byström, of Stockholm,[7] who has translated several works of George Bernard Shaw to Swedish.

He spent his later years writing and lecturing in imperial and colonial history at King's College, London.[7] He died suddenly at his Kensington home in January 1932, aged 74.[7]

Works

• The Dictionary of English History (1884) and subsequent editions (in collaboration with F. S. Puling)[5] Link, vol I Link, vol II
• The Governance of England (1904), revised edition (1914)[9]
• The Political History of the Reign of Queen Victoria
• The British Constitution
• Egypt in Transition (1914)[10]
• A Vision of India (1906)
• The History of England during the Reign of Victoria (1907) (in collaboration with L. C. Sanders)
• A Vision of India as Seen during the Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales (1907)
• The Spirit of the Allied Nations (1915)
• The North American Review, English Democracy in Wartime (1916)
• Italy in the War (1916)
• Igor I Sikorsky
• The British Constitution: Its Growth and Character (1928)
• The Indian States and Ruling Princes (1929)
• "Suggests Germany wants war with us" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 February 1915.
• "Mr. Alden's views" (PDF). The New York Times. 30 July 1904.

In addition to this, Low wrote articles for the Dictionary of National Biography.

References

1. Andrew S. Thompson (September 2004). "Low, Sir Sidney James Mark (1857–1932)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34608. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life
3. "Low". Encyclopedia Judaica. Jewish virtual Library. 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
4. Chapman-Huston, Desmond, The Lost Historian: A Memoir of Sir Sidney Low, London, 1936
5. "Sidney James Mark Low, 1857–1932". The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
6. Easley, Alexis (14 June 2018). Low, Frances Helena (1862–1939), journalist and anti-suffragist. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.58328. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8.
7. "Obituary: Sir Sidney Low, Journalist and Author". The Times. 14 January 1932. p. 14.
8. Chapman-Huston, Desmond (1936). The Lost Historian: A Memoir of Sir Sidney Low. London: Murray.
9. "The governance of England" (PDF). Internet Archive. 1914. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
10. Sir Sidney Low (1914). Egypt in Transition. New York: The MacMillan Company.

External links

• Sidney Low at IMDb
• Works by or about Sidney James Mark Low at Wikisource