Times. THE, is a London daily paper, frequently spoken of as the leading journal of the world. It was established in 1788 (see NEWSPAPERS). The founder, Mr John Walter (1739–1812), was not a printer or journalist by profession, but an underwriter at Lloyd's who had made a fortune and lost it in consequence of the capture by a French squadron of a fleet of merchantmen on which he had taken a large risk. In 1803 the management of the paper was transferred to Mr John Walter (1784–1847), the son of the founder, a man of exceptional talent, energy, and enterprise. He refused to accept the foreign news offered him by the government, and organised a system by which intelligence from abroad was more correctly reported and more rapidly transmitted to London than it ever previously had been. The capitulation of Flushing, the vic- tory of Waterloo, and many other important events were made known to the English public before the arrival of government despatches. The Times earned a high reputation for independence by the opposition it offered to the ministry of Pitt. Mr Walter, after overcoming difficulties which would have disheartened most men, succeeded in 1814 in printing the Times by steam, a most important event in the history of printing (see Vol. VIII. p. 411). In 1816 Mr Thomas Barnes (1785–1841) became editor. As a leader-writer he was assisted by Mr John Sterling, 'the thunderer.' Mr Barnes's successor was Mr John T. Delane (q.v., 1817–79), then a young man fresh from Oxford. The new editor wrote no articles, but he read all important matter printed for publication; and one of his chief tasks during the thirty-six years of his editorship was to make the leaders of able specialists reflect the ideas, tone, and language of the best London society. It was he chiefly who obtained for the Times leaders the reputation of being models of English style. In 1847 Mr John Walter (born 1818), third of the name, for twelve years member for Nottingham, and then from 1859 till 1885 for Berks, succeeded his father as proprietor. He inherited the enterprising spirit of his family. In his time the railway and electric telegraph revolutionised newspaper management, and no journal so rapidly and successfully adapted itself to the new conditions as the Times. The most prominent assistant of Mr Walter in this work was Mr John Macdonald (1822–89), for many years manager of the paper. He combined literary ability, business experience, and great administrative capacity with high inventive talent as a mechanical engineer. Under his able guidance, and at enormous expense, experiments were conducted which brought to perfection in 1860 the art of printing from stereotypes, and in 1869 'the Walter press' (see Vol. VIII. p. 412). In many ways the Times has won the confidence of the mercantile public. In 1841 it was the means of detecting a conspiracy by which London bankers would have been defrauded to the amount of one million sterling, but it had in consequence to defend an action at law. The merchants and bankers of London raised a sum to pay the costs, which, on their offer being declined by Mr Walter, was employed to found two scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge, and to erect two tablets recording the facts, one in the Times office, and the other in the Royal Exchange. The chief event in the recent history of the paper was the 'Parnellism and Crime' articles (see Vol. VII. p. 780). Mr Delane was succeeded as editor by Professor Thomas Chenery (1826–84), and under him and his successor, Mr George Earle Buckle, the Times has maintained its reputation as the leading newspaper. The telegraphic foreign news, necessarily ephemeral, has been supplemented by well-digested articles, yearly summaries, notices of the best English and foreign books, &c. These, with tables of contents appearing in each number, and an index published separately (since 1867), now make a file of the Times one of the best and most accessible books of reference.
See Times Centenary in Times of 1st January 1888, and Chambers's Book of Days (vols. i. and ii.).