C.P. Scott

Scott married Rachel Cook in 1874. She was the daughter of the professor of History at St .Andrews University, John Cook. They had four children, Madeline, Lawrence Prestwich, John Russell and Edward Taylor.

This versatile figure passed away in Manchester, at the age of 86.

Charles Prestwich Scott was born in Bath, England, in Northeast Somerset. He had eight other siblings, and was the eighth child. His father, Russell Scott, a businessman, owned the ‘Manchester Guardian’ newspaper when Charles was born.

He pursued his education at a Unitarian school, Hove House, situated in Brighton and also attended the Clapham Grammar School. In October 1865, he joined Corpus Christi College at Oxford.

After his education at Oxford, Scott left for a Grand Tour of Europe. In 1870, he had the first taste of journalism, when he worked in Edinburgh as an apprentice for “The Scotsman” for a short period of six months.

It was during this time, his uncle John Edward Taylor, who founded ‘Manchester Guardian’ was on the lookout for an editor based in Manchester for the newspaper. In February 1871, this famous journalist became part of “Manchester Guardian”.

Subsequently, he was appointed as its editor on the 1st of January 1872. He was only 25 at this time.

He decided to step into politics in 1886, when he stood for his first general election as a Liberal candidate from the Manchester North East constituency. However, he was unsuccessful.

In the year 1891, he stood for the same seat but was unsuccessful yet again. He did not taste success even in his third attempt in 1892.

C. P. Scott was the editor of the ‘Manchester Guardian’ from 1872 to 1929, an enviable period of fifty seven and half years, which is a feat unrivalled by anyone else in the world.

He also came out with two other publications ‘The Political Diaries of C. P. Scott’ and ‘C. P. Scott, 1846–1932: The Making of the Manchester Guardian’.

As a responsible politician, he dealt with many issues like the reformation of the House of Lords. He also brought the Women’s Suffrage Bill of Jacob Bright under the spotlight through his newspaper and supported Elizabeth Butler’s Contagious Diseases Act.