Mark Lemon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Lemon
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Lemon's cartes de visite
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| Born | 30 November 1809 London, England
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| Died | 23 May 1870 (aged 60) Crawley, West Sussex, England
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| Resting place | St Margaret's Church, Ifield |
| Known for | Founding Punch magazine |
Mark Lemon (born November 30, 1809, in London – died May 23, 1870, in Crawley) was a very important person in the world of magazines. He was the first editor of two famous magazines: Punch and The Field. He was also a talented writer who created many plays and poems.
Contents
Mark Lemon's Early Life
Mark Lemon was born in London, England, on November 30, 1809. His father, Martin Lemon, was a hop merchant, and his mother was Alice Collis. After his father passed away, Mark lived in Church Farmhouse in Hendon from 1817 to 1823. Today, a special blue plaque is on the house to remember him. When he was 15, Mark moved to Boston, Lincolnshire, to live with his uncle.
Becoming a Writer and Editor
Mark Lemon had a natural gift for writing and for the stage. When he was 26, he decided to leave his other jobs and focus completely on writing plays. He wrote more than sixty plays, including comedies and musical shows, which were performed in London. At the same time, he also wrote for many different magazines and newspapers.
On September 28, 1839, Mark married Helen Romer in Kensington, London. They had eight children together: three sons named Mark, Frank, and Henry, and five daughters named Alice, Betty, Helen, Mary, and Kate. Sadly, Frank died shortly after he was born. One of his daughters, Betty, later married Sir Robert Romer.
Founding Punch Magazine
In 1841, Mark Lemon and Henry Mayhew came up with the idea for a funny weekly newspaper. They decided to call it Punch. When the first issue came out in July 1841, Mark and Henry were both editors. They also owned the paper equally with the printer and the person who made the pictures.
At first, Punch was not very successful. Mark Lemon used money he earned from his plays to keep the magazine going. Later, when Punch was sold to new owners, Mark became the only editor. He continued to lead the magazine until he died. Under his leadership, Punch became extremely popular and had a lot of influence.
Other Important Magazines
Mark Lemon also played a big part in two other long-running magazines. One was the Illustrated London News, which was started by his friend Herbert Ingram. This was the first publication to use both pictures and words to report the news. The other magazine was The Field, which Mark helped start and was its first editor from 1853 to 1857.
Mark Lemon's Talents and Legacy
Mark Lemon was a good actor. He also gave interesting talks and was very good at pretending to be characters from Shakespeare's plays. In 1851, he acted in a play called Not So Bad As We Seem. This play was written by Edward Bulwer and featured many famous people from the Victorian era, including Charles Dickens.
Besides plays, Mark Lemon wrote short novels, over a hundred songs, a few longer novels, and several Christmas fairy tales. He also wrote a book of jokes. He was an important member of a club for creative people in London called the Savage Club.
Mark Lemon passed away in his home town of Crawley, West Sussex, on May 23, 1870. He was buried in St Margaret's Church, Ifield. There is also a blue plaque outside The George Hotel, Crawley to remember him.
See also
In Spanish: Mark Lemon para niños
