Introduction
Born: March 16, 1797, London, England.
Died: April 5, 1864, Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, London, England.
Born: March 16, 1797, London, England.
Died: April 5, 1864, Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, London, England.
Alaric was the son of John Mosley Watts and Sarah Bolton, and husband of Priscilla Maden Wiffen.
He was educated at the collegiate school of Wye, Kent.
After leaving school, he taught for a short time, and from 1818–19 was on the staff of the New Monthly Magazine in London. At about the same time he became a contributor to the Literary Gazette.
Later, he edited the Leeds Intelligencer (1822–23), 10 volumes of the Literary Souvenir (1824–38), three volumes of The Cabinet of Modern Art, and the Manchester Courier (1825–26). In 1827 he helped found the Standard, and started and edited the United Service Gazette (1833–41).
Watts was also involved with a number of provincial Conservative newspapers which were financially unsuccessful.
In 1848, he was sentenced to debtors’ prison, and in 1850 he declared bankruptcy. In 1854, Lord Aberdeen came to his rescue by awarding Watts a civil service pension of £100 per year.
By 1856 he was an editor again, publishing the first issue of Men of the Time. He also took a job at the Morning Herald, where he worked until 1846.
Today, Watts is perhaps best remembered for his poem The Siege of Belgrade. His other works include:
If you know Watts’ burial place,