Daily Chronicle

The Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.

History

The newspaper was founded in 1872 as the Clerkenwell News, as a halfpenny, (ha'penny) newspaper. In 1876, it was purchased by Edward Lloyd, renamed the Daily Chronicle and relaunched across London. Circulation soon increased from 8,000 to 140,000 copies an issue.^[1]

Under a succession of editors, the paper gained respect and by 1914 its circulation exceeded the combined sales of The Times, Daily Telegraph, Morning Post, Evening Standard and the Daily Graphic.

Most of Britain's national newspapers were published in support of political parties, and the Daily Chronicle was no exception: it supported the left-wing of the Liberal Party and David Lloyd George and the British participation in the First World War. One of its reporters was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who became famous for his Sherlock Holmes detective stories.

On 9 April 1918, Prime Minister David Lloyd George misled the House of Commons about the strength of the British Army.^{[citation needed]} Sir Frederick Maurice wrote a letter to the leading newspapers and accused Lloyd George of misleading Parliament, but instead of making an enquiry into the allegations, Maurice was forced to retire from the British Army. He was then hired as a military correspondent by the Daily Chronicle.

This action angered Lloyd George who formed a group (United Newspapers) to purchase the newspaper and get rid of Maurice.^{[citation needed]} The editor then resigned in protest over what amounted to censorship. Following a succession of owners the newspaper was subsequently bought in 1926 by Sir David Yule of Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, England.

In 1930, the Daily Chronicle merged with the Daily News to form the News Chronicle.

The paper featured "Tim, Toots and Teeny" as one of its cartoon strips. (See: Lesser known British comic strips).