Edward Tyas Cook’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro British journalist and writer
Was Journalist 
From United Kingdom 
Type Journalism 
Gender male
Birth 12 May 1857, Brighton, United Kingdom
Death 30 September 1919, South Stoke, United Kingdom
(aged 62 years)
Star sign Taurus
Education
New College
Awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire  

Sir Edward Tyas Cook (12 May 1857 – 30 September 1919) was an English journalist, biographer, and man of letters.

Biography

Born in Brighton, Cook was the youngest son of Silas Kemball Cook, secretary of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich, and his wife, Emily, née Archer. He was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, where he was President of the Union and graduated with a double first. His friends assumed he would pursue a career in politics, but Cook’s goal was to enter journalism. Moving to London, he worked as secretary for the London Society for Extension of University Teaching and made occasional contributions to several journals. During this time he joined Inner Temple but never sat for his bar finals.

Working on the Pall Mall Gazette

In August 1888, Cook was recruited by his friend Alfred Milner for a part-time position with the Liberal newspaper the Pall Mall Gazette, then under the editorship of John Morley. Cook was interviewed by Morley who, during the interview

asked me if I was an Oxford man. I said “Yes”; and then he asked me whether I was a very confirmed one – whether, for instance, I was a Fellow of a College. When I said “No”, he said, “Then there is still some hope for you”.

Cook subsequently succeeded Milner as assistant editor to Morley’s successor, W. T. Stead. Upon Stead’s resignation in 1889 Cook was selected as his replacement. Cook soon proved himself a more than capable editor, with a writing style more analytical than Stead’s impassioned approach. As editor Cook carried forward many of the positions Stead advocated, such as Liberal Imperialism and a strong navy, but he brought in a younger group of writers as contributors.

Founding the Westminster Gazette

Cook’s tenure as editor of the Pall Mall Gazette was cut short when he was obliged to resign along with the rest of the political staff after the paper was sold to W. W. Astor, who changed its politics to support Conservative positions. Seeking to fill the gap created by the Pall Mall Gazette’s departure from the Liberal fold, Cook started a new evening paper in January 1893, the Westminster Gazette. Launched with the help of Liberal publisher George Newnes and employing the core of the old political staff from the Pall Mall Gazette, the paper quickly established itself in the front rank of Liberal publications, earning the respect and admiration of the Liberal prime minister Lord Rosebery. Yet Cook insisted on preserving his independence as editor, and was not above supporting Unionist politicians when he felt them deserving of it.

Editing the Daily News

In December 1895, Cook was approached by Arnold Morley about editing the Daily News. Considered to be “the single ‘quality’ Liberal morning paper”, it suffered from falling sales and had earned the ire of many in the Liberal Party for its opposition to Rosebery’s policies. Cook agreed only after Morley assured him that, as with the Westminster Gazette, there would be no interference with the Cook’s editorial management. As editor, Cook continued to support what he thought was right, but despite his best efforts he was unable to reverse the decline in circulation.

The start of Boer War in 1899 brought Cook directly into conflict with the Little Englander wing of the Liberal Party. When David Lloyd George organised a consortium of Liberal businessmen to purchase the Daily News in 1901, he declared that the paper would adopt a stance of neutrality on the war. A strong imperialist, Cook was unable to remain under these circumstances, and was replaced by R. C. Lehmann.

Subsequent life and career

After leaving the Daily News, Cook worked as a leader writer for the Daily Chronicle from 1900 until 1910. His main achievement during those years, however, was to edit the writings of John Ruskin, on which he worked with Alexander Wedderburn. Published in thirty-nine volumes between 1903 and 1911, this remains the definitive collection of Ruskin’s writings. Upon concluding this task, Cook moved on to writing other works, producing biographies of Florence Nightingale and John Delane as well as handbooks to the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery, and to the Greek and Roman antiquities in the British Museum.

At the start of the World War I, Cook lent his abilities to the war effort. He quickly produced a short pamphlet, How Britain Strove for Peace, which put the animus for starting the conflict onto Germany. In 1915 he became joint director of the official Press Bureau along with Sir Frank Swettenham. Created to direct press coverage of the war, its function evolved with the conflict, yet Cook was greatly respected by his contemporaries for performing a difficult job with wisdom and devotion. Having been knighted in 1912, he was created Knight Commander (KBE) in 1917 on the inauguration of the Order of the British Empire. After the war he produced two volumes of Literary Reflections, and an account of the Press Bureau that was published after his death.

Works

His books included:

  • Studies in Ruskin (1891)
  • Rights and Wrongs of the Transvaal War (1901)
  • Highways and Byways in London (1903)
  • Edmund Garrett: A Memoir (1909)
  • The Life of John Ruskin (2 vols.) (1911)
  • Life of Florence Nightingale (1913)
  • Delane of The Times (1915)
  • Literary Reflections (1918–1919)
  • The Press in War-Time: with some Account of the Official Press Bureau (1920)
You May Also Like

George R.R. Martin’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

George R.R. Martin Net Worth and Salary: George R.R. Martin is an American author and television producer who has a net worth of $120 million. George R.R. Martin is best known for writing the Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Although popular, these books reached an even wider audience when they were adapted into the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. He is considered “America’s Tolkien” and one of the most influential people in the world. Earnings: Between the television show and book sales, Martin earns around $25 million every year. His per-season HBO paycheck per series was $15 million, which means he has earned approximately $200 million in total from Game of Thrones alone, with the potential to earn much more with future spin-offs. Early Life: George Raymond Martin was born on September 20th of 1948 in New Jersey. At the age of 13, he was given the confirmation name of Richard, making his full name George Raymond Richard Martin. His family was once wealthy, although they lost everything during the Great Depression. Growing up, Martin was not only an avid reader but also wrote stories from a young age. He even sold his stories to other children. During high school, Martin read countless comic books and became a zealous fan of Marvel comics. To this day, he still cites Stan Lee as one of his greatest literary influences. In 1971, George R.R. Martin graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with an M.S. in Journalism. Shortly after graduating, he was drafted during the Vietnam War. As a conscientious objector, Martin escaped military service and did alternate service instead. By the mid-70s, Martin was barely earning enough to survive. Although writing and chess tournaments provided some income for the writer, he needed a more reliable job. After connecting with fellow George Guthridge, Martin taught writing and journalism at Clark University. However, Martin would only teach for about three years before he quit and tried his luck as a full-time writer. After he and his wife moved to Santa Fe, George R.R. Martin had more time to complete various novels. That being said, he had experienced some success prior to this, especially with the Sci-Fi book Dying of the Light. The popularity of Star Wars in 1977 made books like these much more profitable than before. After hearing a critic say that the Sci-Fi and Horror genres could not be mixed into one novel, Martin set out to disprove him by writing a series of books that did just that. These included Sandkings in 1979 and Nightflyers in 1980. Various ups and downs followed in Martin’s writing career. Nightflyers was so successful that a film adaptation was made, boosting Martin’s wealth and confidence substantially. He was encouraged to write more, including Fevre Dream, which has been called one of the greatest vampire novels of all time. However, Martin’s next book The Armageddon Rag was so poorly received that it briefly destroyed his career and reputation. With publishers unwilling to work with Martin after his monumental failure, the novelist searched for other options. Eventually, he connected with a producer for The Twilight Zone and started working as a screenwriter for the show. Martin soon discovered that writing for TV was incredibly lucrative, and so he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a full-fledged career in the entertainment world. Eventually, he was hired as a writer-producer for the 1989 fantasy series Beauty and the Beast. This was a strange time for Martin, as he became obsessed with role-playing games while working as an editor for a book series called Wild Cards. By the 90s, R.R. Martin had grown tired of the limits placed upon him in the television world, and he returned to writing novels where he could let his imagination run wild. He admired Tolkien’s fantasy world and wanted to create something similar. Although he didn’t have any specific ideas at first, he chose to base his story on historical events like The War of the Roses and books like Ivanhoe and The Accursed Kings. What eventually emerged in 1996 was A Game of Thrones – the first novel in the series A Song of Ice and Fire. Although the series gathered momentum gradually, the fourth entry A Feast for Crows eventually reached the number one spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list. George R.R. Martin repeated the feat with the release of A Dance with Dragons in 2011. By this point, A Song of Fire and Ice had become a global phenomenon, cementing Martin’s place as one of the most successful and celebrated authors of all time. As of 2020, two more books were yet to be released in the series. George R.R. Martin has refused to focus entirely on A Song of Ice and Fire, preferring to write other books between sequels. For example, Fire & Blood was released in 2018, and this book focuses entirely on House Targaryen. Television Adaptations: Having purchased the rights earlier, HBO began production on a TV adaptation of A Song of Fire and Ice in 2011. Although Martin was preoccupied with writing at the time, he nevertheless participated in the production of the first season. This first season went on to win numerous awards and accolades. The series continued for a total of 8 seasons, ending in 2019. Over the course of these seasons, George R.R. Martin would play an increasingly substantial role in their production. In 2016, it was announced that a prequel spinoff was in the works. Personal Life: Although Martin was once in a relationship with fellow Sci-Fi writer Lisa Tuttle, he eventually married Gale Burnick in 1975. They would divorce in 1979. In 2011, Martin wed Parris McBride after a long relationship. They currently reside in Santa Fe. George R.R. Martin is very involved in philanthropy, especially with the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. He launched a campaign to raise money for this animal sanctuary, succeeding in donating more than $500,000.
Read More