John Heriot (journalist), Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJohn Heriot (journalist)
British journalist and writer
Date of Birth: 
About John Heriot (journalist)
- John Heriot (22 April 1760 – 2 August 1833) was a Scottish journalist and writer. He was forced to join the Royal Marines due to family hardship, and served as a junior officer during the American Revolutionary War.
- He was wounded in 1780 at the Battle of Martinique, and retired from the service in 1783; after living in financial difficulties for some years, he published two moderately successful novels in the 1780s, the second of which drew extensively on his experiences as a half-pay officer. He was recruited as a pro-government journalist and pamphleteer in 1788, and placed on a salary the following year.
- He became the founder and sole editor of two pro-government daily newspapers, the Sun and the True Briton, which ran for over a decade, and eventually retired from journalistic work in 1806.
- He was appointed to a number of government posts, most significantly the comptrollership of Chelsea Hospital, the post he held at his death. He was a distant relative of the philanthropist George Heriot, and the younger brother of the Scots-Canadian artist George Heriot.
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