Sir Harold Evans Biography

Sir Harold Evans is a British-born journalist and author who served as the Sunday Times' editor from 1967 until 1981. He has authored several books on history and journalism. Evans has been the editor-at-large of The Week Magazine since 2001, and he has been a writer to The Guardian and BBC Radio 4 since 2005. Evans was born in Newton Heath, Manchester, and attended Brookdale High School Newton Heath, where he met the future Alfred, Lord Morris of Manchester, who called him "Poshie" because his father, a railway driver, had an automobile. At the age of 16, he began his career as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, he joined Durham University where he graduated with honours in politics and economics and subsequently got a Master of Arts degree for a thesis on international policy. He worked as an assistant editor for the Manchester Evening News and received a Harkness Fellowship to travel and study in the United States in 1956-57. On his return from the United States, he was named editor of the regional newspaper The Northern Echo, where one of his efforts culminated in a nationwide cervical cancer screening program. During his 14-year time as Sunday Times editor, Evans was responsible for the paper's crusading style of investigative reporting, which brought to light many issues and scandals that had previously been denied or ignored. One such piece was on the hardship of hundreds of British Thalidomide children who had never got any recompense for terrible birth problems some had experienced. This became a crusade for the newspaper's Insight investigative team, and Evans personally took on the pharma corporations responsible for Thalidomide production, following them through English courts and finally winning a victory in the European Court of Human Rights. As a consequence, after more than a decade, the victims' families received recompense. Moreover, the British Government was driven to amend the statute prohibiting the reporting of civil proceedings. Other significant investigative findings included the outing of Kim Philby as a Soviet spy and the release of former Labour Minister Richard Crossman's diaries, which risked prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. Evans was named editor of The Times after Rupert Murdoch purchased Times Newspapers Limited in 1981. However, he only stayed with the paper for a year before departing due to policy disputes about editorial independence. Evans detailed his experiences in the book Good Times, Bad Times (1984). Evans left The Times to become the director of Goldcrest Films and Television. Evans relocated to the United States in 1984 to teach at Duke University. He went on to become the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Monthly Press and the editorial director of US News and World Report. In 1986 he was the founding editor of Conde Nast Traveler, committed to "truth in travel". From 1990 to 1997, Evans was president and publisher of the Random House trade group, and from 1997 to January 2000, he was editorial director and vice chairman of US News and World Report, the New York Daily News, and The Atlantic Monthly. Harold Evans became a citizen of the United States in 1993 and now resides in New York with his wife Tina Brown and their two daughters. In 2004, he was knighted for his contributions to journalism. Evans' best known work, The American Century, earned critical praise when it was released in 1998. The sequel, They Made America (2004), detailed the lives of some of the country's most influential inventors and innovators. Fortune named it one of the finest books published in the magazine's 75-year history. That same year, it was converted as a four-part television mini-series, and in 2005, it was broadcast as a National Public Radio special in the United States.

As a renowned expert and highly sought-after speaker, Sir Harold Evans's expertise is in high demand. To book Sir Harold Evans for your next event, conference, or workshop, please contact our speaker booking agency. Our experienced team will work closely with you to understand your specific needs and help secure Sir Harold Evans's participation. With our professional guidance and seamless booking process, you can ensure a memorable and impactful experience for your audience. Don't miss the opportunity to engage your audience with Sir Harold Evans's compelling insights and inspire positive change within your organization. Fill out the booking request form to take the first step in securing Sir Harold Evans for your next speaking engagement.