Edward Sterling

Edward Sterling (1773 – 1847) was a British journalist.

Life

He had been called to the Irish bar, but, having fought as a militia captain at the Battle of Vinegar Hill, afterwards volunteered with his company into the line. On the break-up of his regiment he went to Scotland and took to farming at Kames Castle. In 1804 he married Hester Coningham. One of her uncles had made a fortune through the sugar plantations of St Vincent, and his money, based on slave labour, supported the Sterlings.

In 1810 the family removed to Llanblethian in the Vale of Glamorgan, and during his residence there Edward Sterling, under the signature of "Vetus," contributed a number of letters to The Times, which were reprinted in 1812, and a second series in 1814. In that year he moved to Paris, but on the escape of Napoleon from Elba in 1815 took up residence in London, obtaining a position on the staff of The Times; and during the late years of Thomas Barnes's administration he was practically editor. His fiery, emphatic and oracular mode of writing conferred those characteristics on The Times which were recognized in the nickname, the "Thunderer."