Langdon Bonython

Sir John Langdon Bonython (; 15 October 1848 – 22 October 1939) was an Australian editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist, journalist and politician who served as a member of the inaugural federal Parliament, and was editor of the Adelaide daily morning broadsheet, The Advertiser, for 35 years.

Early life

Bonython was born in London in 1848, and was the second son of George Langdon Bonython (1820–1909), a carpenter and builder, and Annie MacBain (1824–1906). His siblings were George Langdon Bonython (1845–1921) and Alfred MacBain Bonython (1865–1954). George (senior) was born in Canada to which his parents Thomas Bonython (1787-1860) and Ann (née Langdon; 1800-1897?) had migrated. George was sent back to England into the care of his maternal grandfather John Harris Langdon, a successful architect/builder. Thomas, Anne and their family later returned to England and eventually migrated to South Australia in 1840, but without George. But after the death of his grandfather and employer, John Harris Langdon, George (senior) with wife Ann and children, also migrated to South Australia in July 1854 where young John Langdon Bonython was educated at the Brougham School in North Adelaide. In 1870, he married Mary Louisa Frederica (or Marie Louise Friedrike, or Marie Louise Fredericka) Balthasar; they had eight children, of whom three daughters and three sons survived infancy.

Media career

When he was sixteen, Bonython took a job at The Advertiser, where he was well regarded as a hard worker. In 1879, he became a part proprietor of The Advertiser.