Charles Prestwich Scott

Charles Prestwich Scott (born Oct. 26, 1846, Bath, Somerset, Eng.—died Jan. 1, 1932, Manchester) was an eminent British journalist who edited the Manchester Guardian (known as The Guardian since 1959) for 57 years.

Scott attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford, graduating in 1869. He worked briefly as an apprentice journalist for The Scotsman of Edinburgh, then joined The Guardian in 1871. He was named to the editorship the following year, when he was 26 years old. Scott introduced ideas and policies that made The Guardian one of the world’s most respected papers. He demanded thoughtful writing of quality and insisted that the paper present the news honestly and fairly. He was quoted as saying, “Comment is free, but the facts are sacred.” As editor he brought outstanding journalists to The Guardian, among them John Masefield, John Maynard Keynes, and Arnold Toynbee. He bought The Guardian in 1905 on the death of the publisher, J.E. Taylor, who was Scott’s cousin.

Scott paid particular attention to The Guardian’s editorial page. Liberal in outlook under Scott’s editorship, The Guardian supported many unpopular causes, including Irish Home Rule in 1886, despite heavy opposition. During World War I, when British nationalism was running high, Scott’s Guardian presented minority views on such subjects as internationalism and pacifism.

On The Guardian’s 100th anniversary in 1921, Scott had been editor for nearly a half-century. His second son, John Russell Scott, as The Guardian’s business manager, strengthened the paper’s financial position to the point that it was able to buy out the Manchester Evening News in 1924. Charles Prestwich Scott retired in 1929, leaving the editorship to his younger son, who, however, drowned a scant four months later.