As journalistic fiascos go, it was one of the most sensational.

In 1983, The Sunday Times of London claimed to have Adolf Hitler’s diaries, scribbled in the Führer’s own hand. A renowned historian had authenticated them.

What it actually had were forgeries. The newspaper’s top editors discovered the truth at the last minute and tried to stop their publication. But the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, dismissed their concerns and ordered that the presses roll, leaving The Sunday Times, one of the world’s great news organizations, with serious egg on its face.

The editor of the paper, the mild-mannered, urbane Frank Giles, took the fall and was fired, bringing a distinguished career to an abrupt and ignominious end. He died on Oct. 30 at 100, The Sunday Times reported.

Mr. Giles had been editor of the paper for just two years when the German magazine Der Stern said it was in possession of Hitler’s diaries and offered the British serialization rights to The Sunday Times.