Basil Tozer

Born in Teignmouth, England, in March 1868, Basil John Joseph Tozer was educated at Beaumont College and began his career in journalism. Early on he worked in Paris as editor of Galignani's Messenger, and after traveling widely he joined the staff of the Daily Mail. He also contributed articles to magazines and worked with publisher Sir Arthur Pearson on several publications.

Tozer is best known for The Horse in History (1908), a lively account of the horse's place in human civilization. Alongside his writing on sport and country life, he developed a reputation as a knowledgeable observer of hunting. At the same time, he was unusually willing to criticize practices he saw as needlessly cruel, writing about abuses in hunting and later supporting drag hunting as an alternative to fox hunting.

He served in the Royal Army Service Corps in France during the First World War. In his personal life, he was married to the concert violinist Beatrice Langley, who was active in the women's suffrage movement, and they had two sons. He died in Teignmouth on December 7, 1949.