Rachel Beer (née Sassoon)
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Rachel Beer (née Sassoon)
by H. Walter Barnett
platinum print, 1900-1903
5 7/8 in. x 3 7/8 in. (150 mm x 100 mm) image size
Purchased, 1994
Photographs Collection
NPG x68859
Sitterback to top
- Rachel Beer (née Sassoon) (1858-1927), Editor and owner of 'Observer' and 'Sunday Times'; wife of Frederick Arthur Beer. Sitter in 1 portrait.
Artistback to top
- Henry Walter ('H. Walter') Barnett (1862-1934), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 576 portraits, Sitter in 2 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- 100 Pioneering Women, p. 80 Read entry
Born in India, into a wealthy Jewish family that moved to the UK while she was still a baby, Rachel Beer (1858-1927) was the ‘first lady of Fleet Street’: the first woman to edit and own a national broadsheet newspaper. In an era in which women’s lives were highly circumscribed, she lived hers undaunted, exhibiting tremendous spirit and determination. A rich heiress and Mayfair socialite, she volunteered as a hospital nurse before marrying, in 1887, Frederick Arthur Beer, proprietor of the Observer newspaper, of which she became the editor in 1891. Two years later, she purchased its chief competitor, the Sunday Times, which she edited between 1893 and 1904, thereby becoming the only woman editor, ever, of two rival Sunday newspapers. At the Observer, she was behind the journalistic scoop of the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal that rocked France in the 1890s. She was also a composer who published a piano sonata and trio. The poet Siegfried Sassoon was her nephew.
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (photographer's studio, 1 Park Side, Hyde Park Corner, London)
Events of 1900back to top
Current affairs
The Conservatives return to power, after the Prime Minister Lord Salisbury calls a general election, known as the 'Khaki election', on the back of huge jingoistic support for the Boer War.The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is founded from a coalition of socialist groups; they win two seats in the 1900 election and Ramsay Macdonald is appointed secretary. The Labour politician Keir Hardie is also returned to Parliament for Merthyr Tydfilin Wales.
Art and science
German physicist Max Planck proposes the concept of the quantum theory. Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published. In the text, Freud outlines his theory of dream analysis, crucial to the study of the unconscious, and introduces key concepts in psychoanalysis, such as the Ego.The Paris International Exhibition, attended by more than 50 million people and including over 76,000 exhibitors, marks the heyday of Art Nouveau.
International
In China the Boxer rebellion takes place. The Boxers were anti-imperialist and against foreign influence in trade, religion, politics and technology in the final years of the Manchu rule. The Boxers invade Beijing, killing 230 foreigners and Chinese Christians. The rebellion is suppressed by a multinational coalition of 20,000 troops, with China being forced to pay large war reparations, contributing to growing nationalist resentment against the Qing dynasty.Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.