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

Sir
Sidney James Mark Low
Born(1857-01-22)22 January 1857
Died14 January 1932(1932-01-14) (aged 74)
NationalityBritish
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
Occupation(s)Journalist, Author
EmployerThe Standard
ParentMaximilian Low
RelativesBarbara Low (sister)
A. Maurice Low (brother)
Ivy Low Litvinov (niece)

Biography

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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

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  • 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

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  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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "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.
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