Sir John Collings Squire

Born in Plymouth on April 2, 1884, he became known as a poet, critic, and editor at a time when literary magazines mattered enormously. He was educated at Blundell's School and St John's College, Cambridge, and early in life was involved in socialist politics before building a major career in journalism and criticism.

He is best remembered as the editor of London Mercury, the magazine he led from 1919 to 1934. In that role he became an important figure in British literary culture, championing writers, reviewing books, and helping to shape debates about poetry and criticism in the years between the two world wars. He also wrote essays, poems, and light verse, including well-known parodies collected in Imaginary Speeches.

Knighted in 1933, he remained a prominent public man of letters for decades. Although literary fashion later shifted away from him, his influence as an editor and critic was considerable, and his career offers a vivid picture of how literary reputation was made in early 20th-century Britain. He died on December 20, 1958, in Sussex.