Richard Holt Hutton
Richard Holt Hutton was an influential English writer and editor born in 1826 in Leeds, England, into a family with a Unitarian background. He faced challenges in his education due to his religion, ultimately studying at University College, London, where he excelled in mathematics and philosophy. Hutton furthered his education in Germany, studying at the University of Bonn and the University of Heidelberg before returning to England to prepare for the Unitarian ministry; however, he never took on a preaching role. Instead, he became a prominent editor for various periodicals, including the Spectator, where he served as literary editor from 1861 until 1897, producing a substantial body of work. Hutton held complex views, supporting abolitionism and opposing Irish home rule, and later converted to the Church of England, finding a new perspective on Christ's divinity. He was influenced by notable figures such as James Martineau and Walter Bagehot, with whom he shared a deep intellectual respect. Hutton's life was marked by personal tragedy, including the deaths of his first wife from yellow fever and his second wife, who suffered from depression after a carriage accident. He passed away in 1897, shortly after his second wife's death.
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Richard Holt Hutton
Nonfiction Writer
- Born: June 2, 1826
- Birthplace: Leeds, Yorkshire, England
- Died: September 9, 1897
Biography
The son of an Irish Unitarian minister, Richard Holt Hutton was born in Leeds, England, in 1826. Denied admission to the best universities because of his religion, Hutton attended University College in London, where he earned awards in mathematics and philosophy upon graduation in 1845. In 1845 and 1846, Hutton studied at the University of Bonn with Theodor Mommsen. In 1846 and 1847, Hutton studied at the University of Heidelberg. Hutton returned to England to study for the Unitarian pulpit at Manchester New College, with his father’s former assistant pastor, James Martineau. Hutton never preached.
Hutton became a vice principal and chaplain at University Hall, Gordon Square, London, in 1850. He married Anne Roscoe, the sister of a friend in 1851, but she died in Barbados of yellow fever while Hutton was recovering in the west Indies on doctor’s orders. Hutton married her cousin, Eliza Roscoe, in 1858.
Hutton edited several periodicals, including the Unitarian journals Inquirer, Prospective Review, and National Review. Hutton also edited The Economist from 1858 to 1860, to which he had begun contributing in 1857. Beginning in 1861, Hutton became literary editor of Spectator, a position for which Meredith Townsend interviewed him and hired him instinctively. Hutton remained at Spectator until 1897. Among the divisive positions Hutton took were his opposition to Irish home rule, and his abolitionist sympathies that allied him with the North in the American Civil War. Hutton joined the Church of England, after a reasoned disavowal of Unitarianism. Hutton’s output at the Spectator was prodigious. He eventually wrote thirty-five hundred pieces for the journal. Hutton evolved from literary editor to proprietor, and his name became synonymous with the Spectator.
Criticisms on Contemporary Thought and Thinkers, from 1894, and Aspects of Religious and Scientific Thought, published posthumously 1899, bore Hutton’s unshakable commitment to dispassionate, even-handed consideration, and rational defense of Christianity. Hutton’s prominent influences were James Martineau and university classmate Walter Bagehot. Hutton credited Martineau with pointing out what Hutton felt were the flaws in Unitarian thought. Hutton came to find no contradiction to the divinity of Christ. Bagehot remained a confidant of Hutton, and while they didn’t always agree, they had abiding respect for each other’s intellect. Hutton marveled at Bagehot’s ability to convey Darwin’s principles in intelligible terms.
Hutton died in 1897, several months after his wife died. She had been consumed by depression following a carriage accident in 1888, and hardly communicated in the more than ten years that intervened between her accident and her death. Hutton remained devoted to her throughout.