Littérateur and first editor of Punch, born in London, and articled to his father, a solicitor; chose journalism as a profession, and in conjunction with Gilbert à Beckett started The Thief in 1832, the first of the "Bits" type of papers; he joined the first Punch staff in 1841, in which year his farce "The Wandering Minstrel" was produced; collaborating with his brother Augustus, he wrote "Whom to Marry" and many other novels between 1847 and 1855, thereafter works on various subjects; his principal book, "London labor and the London Poor," appeared in 1851 (1812-1887).