Poet, journalist, novelist and songwriter. Worked for the Morning Chronicle from 1835-1844 before becoming editor of the Glasgow Argus. He then joined the Illustrated London News in 1848, becoming editor of that paper in 1852. Acted as war correspondent for The Times during the American Civil War. Notable works include Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841) and Longbeard, Lord of London (1841).