Early Years
He was born in London, England, the son of the Daily Telegraph crime correspondent C.A. Coughlin. The eldest of four children (his younger brother is Vincent Coughlin QC) he grew up in Upminster, Essex. Raised as a Roman Catholic, at the age of 11 he won a scholarship to Christ’s Hospital. At 18 he won a scholarship to read Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he specialised in the Industrial Revolution under the tutelage of the historian Simon Schama.
After graduating with an upper second, in August 1977 Coughlin joined the Thomson Regional Newspapers graduate trainee course and after undertaking his initial training in Cardiff served out his indentures as a trainee reporter with the Reading Evening Post. In 1980 Coughlin was offered a position on the Daily Telegraph as a general news reporter, and joined the staff in November of that year.
Read more about this topic: Con Coughlin
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