The First Published Horoscope

The First Published Horoscope

Though not from the Victorian era, this article is about the first horoscope ever put in print. On August 24th, 1930, Scottish publisher John Rutherford Gordon put to print a horoscope for Princess Margaret to commemorate her birth in the Sunday Express. Since the original article could not be found, I present to you an article from the centennial celebration of the Sunday Express. The newspaper made the bold move to diverge from the typical articles being published by other newspapers and instead publish a prediction for the Princess's life based simply on the day she was born, and if it weren't for this decision, the article states that horoscopes may not be as widely spread in publications today. As this was the first published horoscope, it carved a new path for newspapers and other publications. I think that, while this was a risky and bold move, the decision to make the first published horoscope about a princess was incredibly smart. It created more discussion about the Princess's birth and about astrological signs in general, and truly did carve the path for popularizing horoscopes. In class we discussed how, oftentimes, horoscopes are mainly affirmative, and how palmistry was originally marketed to the upper class. I think the fact that the first horoscope was actually written about a princess perpetuates this idea.

John Rutherford Gordon

Sunday Express

Online News Article

Centennial Newspaper Article