10 Facts About Gordon Newton

Sir Leslie Gordon Newton was an English journalist and editor of the Financial Times for 22 years, from 1950 until 1972.

Gordon Newton is generally considered to be one of the most successful British newspaper editors of the post-Second World War era.

Gordon Newton attended Blundell's School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he read economics.

At his father's suggestion, Gordon Newton then purchased a struggling mirror-making firm which he sold in 1933 for a profit, only to lose the money in a company that manufactured automobile parts when his business partner ran off with the firm's money.

Desperately looking for work, in 1935 Gordon Newton received a position as a cuttings clerk with the Financial News.

Gordon Newton resigned his position not long after his appointment to join the Honourable Artillery Company, in which he served throughout the war despite an offer of a position in military intelligence.

Sales trebled during his years as editor, as Gordon Newton transformed the Financial Times from a trade publication into an internationally respected newspaper.

Gordon Newton received a knighthood in 1967, and served as a director of the paper between 1967 and 1972.

Gordon Newton voluntarily stepped down from his responsibilities with the Financial Times in 1972 after reaching the age of 65.

Gordon Newton lived quietly in Henley-on-Thames, where he indulged his passion for fly fishing, until his death from cerebrovascular disease in 1998.