Sir Christopher John Howard Chancellor CMG (29 March 1904 – 9 September 1989) was a British journalist and administrator who was general manager of the news agency Reuters from 1944 to 1959. The Daily Telegraph credited him for keeping the company running under extremely difficult wartime circumstances, noting that "It was largely thanks to Chancellor that Reuters had survived the war intact, despite the loss for several years of the greatest part of its world market."[1] By 1951, at the firm's 100th anniversary, Chancellor was credited with tripling the agency's correspondents and revenues.[2]
Biography edit
Chancellor was son of Lt. Col. Sir John Robert Chancellor GCMG GCVO GBE DSO (1870–1952), a colonial administrator. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Chancellor joined Reuters in 1930 and remained with the agency for 29 years.
Based in Shanghai from 1931 to 1939 with his young family, he kept the agency's China service operating after the Japanese invasion in 1932.[1] He returned to London during World War II, and worked with William Moloney and William Haley in reorganising Reuters' news and business operations, succeeding Sir Roderic Jones as the general manager of Reuters in 1944.
Chancellor was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1948 Birthday Honours and knighted in the 1951 Birthday Honours.[3][4] He died at Wincanton, in southwest England, at age 85.
Family edit
In 1926, Chancellor married Sylvia Mary Paget (1901–1996), daughter of Sir Richard Paget and philanthropist Lady Muriel Finch-Hatton, daughter of Murray Finch-Hatton, 12th Earl of Winchilsea. Sylvia was made OBE in 1976 for her philanthropic activities.[5] Among their children were John Paget Chancellor (1927–2014), editor of the encyclopædia Knowledge,[6] and Alexander Chancellor, editor of The Spectator. Their grandchildren include actresses Anna Chancellor and Dolly Wells, model Cecilia Chancellor, and financial historian Edward Chancellor.
Notes edit
- ^ a b via Associated Press. "Christopher Chancellor, Who Led Reuters for 15 Years, Dies at 85", The New York Times, 12 September 1989. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
- ^ "100 for Reuters", Time, 23 July 1951. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
- ^ UK list: "No. 38311". The London Gazette. 10 June 1948. p. 3368.
- ^ British Empire :"No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1951. p. 3061.
- ^ "Lady Chancellor: A philanthropist of wit and charm who remained unbowed by war in Shanghai or the Blitz in London". Anna Chancellor Interviews. reprint of Daily Telegraph obituary from 30 October 1996. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "John Chancellor - obituary". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
References edit
- Johnson, Syrie (8 July 1999), "The traders who turn to novels", London Evening Standard
Further reading edit
- Sir Christopher John Robert Chancellor (1904–1989) Oxford DNB entry
- New York Times obituary, 1989
- Christopher Chancellor's work at Reuters as viewed by Time magazine, "100 for Reuters", 23 July 1951.