Albany Fonblanque

Albany William Fonblanque (1793 – 13 October 1872) was a celebrated English journalist and by his own example a reformer of that profession.

Albany Fonblanque was descended from a noble French Huguenot family, the de Greniers of Languedoc, and was born in London.

John de Grenier Fonblanque, a banker, had been naturalized in England under the name of Fonblanque; and his son, John Anthony Fonblanque, was Albany's father. Albany's mother, Frances Caroline Fitzgerald, was a granddaughter of Colonel Samuel Martin of Antigua, West Indies and niece of Samuel Martin (Secretary to the Treasury). Her brother was the poet, William Thomas Fitzgerald.

Albany Fonblanque married Caroline Keane. They had a daughter and three sons.

Young Fonblanque was sent to Tonbridge School, and then was sent to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, to prepare for a career in the Royal Engineers. His health was not good enough, and his studies were suspended. Upon his recovery he studied law with a view to being called to the bar. At the age of nineteen (1812) he began writing for the newspapers, and soon attracted attention because of the boldness and liberality of his opinions, and because of the superiority of his style to what Macaulay, when speaking of him, called the "rant and twaddle" of the daily and weekly press. While he was sharing in all the political struggles of this eventful period, he was also studying, devoting at least six hours a day to the study of classics and political philosophy. Under this regime, his health once more broke down. He continued to be a regular contributor to the newspapers and reviews, making a reasonable living.

From 1820 to 1830, Fonblanque was successively employed on the staff of The Times and the Morning Chronicle, whilst he contributed to the Examiner, to the London Magazine and to the Westminster Review.

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