# Arthur Christiansen

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British journalist and newspaper editor (1904–1963)

Arthur Christiansen Born Arthur Robin Christiansen (1904-07-27)27 July 1904 Wallasey, Cheshire, England, UK Died 27 September 1963(1963-09-27) (aged 59) Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK Other name Poodah (pet name in family) Occupations Journalist, editor Spouse Brenda Winifred Children Michael Christiansen Antoinette B Christiansen Andrew N Christiansen Greta J Christiansen

**Arthur Robin Christiansen** (27 July 1904 – 27 September 1963) was a British journalist, and editor of [Lord Beaverbrook](/source/Max_Aitken%2C_1st_Baron_Beaverbrook)'s newspaper the *[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)* from 1933 to 1957.[1]

Christiansen was born in [Wallasey](/source/Wallasey), [Cheshire](/source/Cheshire) to Louis Niels Christiansen, a [shipwright](/source/Shipbuilding), and his wife Ellen. From an early age, he demonstrated a talent for writing, producing a magazine for his grammar school. At 16, he became a reporter for the *Wallasey and Wirral Chronicle*, where he worked for three years before moving to the *[Liverpool Evening Express](/source/Liverpool_Evening_Express)* and the Liverpool *Daily Courier*. He was named the London editor of the *Evening Express* in 1925, a position he held for a year before moving to the *[Sunday Express](/source/Daily_Express#Sunday_Express)*.

Christiansen made his reputation four years later, when, as assistant editor, he produced a special late-morning edition of the *Sunday Express* to report the [R101](/source/R101) airship disaster.[2]

He was the subject of *[This Is Your Life](/source/This_Is_Your_Life_(British_TV_series))* in 1957, when he was surprised by [Eamonn Andrews](/source/Eamonn_Andrews) at the BBC Television Theatre.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1961, he was cast as the editor of the *Daily Express* in the [Fleet Street](/source/Fleet_Street)-based [sci-fi](/source/Science_fiction) thriller *[The Day the Earth Caught Fire](/source/The_Day_the_Earth_Caught_Fire)*, directed by [Val Guest](/source/Val_Guest). He also played a news editor in the 1963 medical thriller *[80,000 Suspects](/source/80%2C000_Suspects)*, again directed by Guest.

Christiansen's son, [Michael](/source/Michael_Christiansen), also became a newspaper editor; his grandson [Rupert Christiansen](/source/Rupert_Christiansen) was the *[Daily Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)* opera critic until 2020.

## Bibliography

- *Headlines All My Life* (1961)

## Partial filmography

- *[The Day the Earth Caught Fire](/source/The_Day_the_Earth_Caught_Fire)* (1961) – 'Jeff' Jefferson – Editor

- *[80,000 Suspects](/source/80%2C000_Suspects)* (1963) – Editor – Bath Evening Chronicle (Mr. Graney) (final film role)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Journalism: The Express Way"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160204160553/http://www.northtrek.plus.com/Christiansen.htm). *Perspective uk North / media*. northtrek.co.uk. Archived from [the original](http://www.northtrek.plus.com/Christiansen.htm) on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Edward Pickering, "Christiansen, Arthur Robin (1904–1963)", in *The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography*, H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 11, p. 527.

Media offices Preceded by Beverley Baxter Editor of The Daily Express 1933–1957 Succeeded by Edward Pickering

v t e Express newspapers Daily Express editors 1900: Arthur Pearson 1901: Fletcher Robinson 1909: R. D. Blumenfeld 1929: Beverley Baxter 1933: Arthur Christiansen 1957: Edward Pickering 1961: Bob Edwards 1962: Roger Wood 1963: Bob Edwards 1965: Derek Marks 1971: Ian McColl 1974: Alastair Burnet 1976: Roy Wright 1977: Derek Jameson 1980: Arthur Firth 1981: Christopher Ward 1983: Larry Lamb 1986: Nicholas Lloyd 1995: Richard Addis 1998: Rosie Boycott 2001: Chris Williams 2003: Peter Hill 2011: Hugh Whittow 2018: Gary Jones Sunday Express editors 1920: James Douglas 1928: James Douglas and John Gordon 1931: John Gordon 1952: Harold Keeble 1954: John Junor 1986: Robin Esser 1989: Robin Morgan 1991: Eve Pollard 1994: Brian Hitchen 1995: Sue Douglas 1996: Richard Addis 1998: Amanda Platell 1999: Michael Pilgrim 2001: Martin Townsend 2018: Michael Booker Other topics Daily Express Building, London Daily Express Building, Manchester James Bond comic strip Northern & Shell Richard Desmond Rupert Bear Sunday Express Dunblane controversy The Sunday Express Book of the Year

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