Edward Sterling (1773 – 1847) was a British journalist. 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. 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." John Sterling was his second son, the elder being Colonel Sir Anthony Coningham Sterling (1805-1871), who besides serving in the Crimea and as military secretary to Lord Clyde during the Indian Mutiny, was the author of The Highland Brigade in the Crimea and other books.
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
