Launched in December 1857, the Birmingham Daily Post was printed in response to Birmingham’s first daily newspaper - the Birmingham Daily Press. The Birmingham Daily Post was considered radical in its political leanings, featuring opinions from the likes of nonconformist preacher George Dawson, who launched the Press, and Liberal politician William Harris. By the 1870s, it became the largest circulating daily newspaper in the Midlands.

The Birmingham Daily Post supported Joseph Chamberlain’s move into politics, even before he was elected as Birmingham’s mayor in 1873. Chamberlain championed Liberal policies and coined the phrase “The Liberal Quadrilateral” – free Church, free schools, free land, and free labour – during the General Election campaign in 1892. The paper, and Liberal groups of the area, mourned his death in 1914, but mentions of him can be found within its pages for many years afterwards, and a tribute to him was printed in 1940.

The paper was sold in 1942 with the death of the proprietor at the time, Charles Hyde. A philanthropist, Hyde’s will stated that the proceeds from selling the paper upon his passing should be donated to charities and hospitals. After the sale, the paper took on a Conservative stance under its new proprietor and former Conservative MP, Sir Edward Iliffe.

The Birmingham Daily Post became the Birmingham Post in 1918, and eventually merged with the Birmingham Daily Gazette in November 1956.