Barnard Gregory

Barnard Gregory (1796–1852) was a British journalist, publisher and actor. He published The Satirist from 1831 to 1849. He used this paper to publish the scandals of residents of London and often blackmailed his targets. Several articles that were published in the paper led to high-profile libel suits. As a result of these cases, he was imprisoned multiple times. Gregory was also a gifted Shakespearian actor, although his acting career was hindered by his poor reputation.

Gregory was born in London in 1796 but did not receive public attention until he was in his thirties. In April 1831 he began publishing a weekly paper known as The Satirist, or the Censor of the Times. The paper focused on reporting scandals about of well known citizens of London. He also founded the Penny Satirist to cover scandals of less notable citizens.The Satirist often covered scandals such as infidelity and cheating in card games. Gregory also wrote editorials criticising Tory politicians and lamenting the mistreatment of the poor. One topic that it frequently covered was affairs between wealthy men and their female servants.

The paper was often used as a means to blackmail wealthy individuals. After Gregory identified a scandal, he often notified the individual that he intended to write about. He frequently requested a bribe in return for the suppression of the article, and many people were willing to pay. Although some subjects filed lawsuits against him, the legal system of the time made it difficult for them to force the courts to penalise him.

During the eighteen years that he published The Satirist, Gregory was almost continually engaged in litigation. Though he was skilled in navigating the justice system, he was convicted of libel in 1832 and 1833 and was fined over £300 in damages.

The Marquis of Blandford pressed libel charges against him in 1838. He filed the charges after The Satirist ran articles criticising him and his son, the Earl of Sunderland. During the case, Lord Denman described Gregory as "a trafficker in character".

That year Gregory also became embroiled in a public dispute with Renton Nicholson. Nicholson was the editor of The Town, a rival publication. The dispute began when The Satirist ran articles critical of the man who printed The Town. Nicholson retaliated with a series of scathing articles directed at Barnard Gregory. Gregory then pressed charges against Nicholson because of the content of the articles. Gregory's attempt to press charges against Nicholson was unsuccessful because he was imprisoned after a failed blackmail attempt. Gregory had attempted to blackmail Sir James Hogg, a Member of Parliament for Beverly. The legal husband of Jane Williams, who had left him for another man, had provided Gregory with the details of her marital status. Though Williams was legally married to John Edward Johnson, she had been living with Thomas Jefferson Hogg and purported to be his wife. The article that Gregory published incorrectly claimed that the wife of James Hogg was legally married to another man. James Hogg responded by filing a libel suit against Gregory. In February 1839 Gregory was convicted in the court of queen's bench of libel and imprisoned for three months. Although Gregory later learned that Thomas Jefferson Hogg was the intended subject of the scandal, he withheld the information at the request of Leigh Hunt.

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