Famous 20th Century Publishers

Vote for Your Favourite 20th Century Publishers

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 1 
Julian Assange
(Computer programmer)
Julian Assange
6
Birthdate: July 3, 1971
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Townsville, Australia

Julian Assange made headlines all over the world in 2010 when WikiLeaks, a non-profit organization founded by him, gained international attention after publishing leaks, such as the Afghanistan war logs and Iraq war logs. After dodging arrest for several years, he was finally arrested in 2019 and is currently imprisoned in HM Prison Belmarsh.

 2 
Katharine Graham
(American Newspaper Publisher and Heiress Who Led 'The Washington Post' (1963 - 1991))
Katharine Graham
4
Birthdate: June 16, 1917
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: July 17, 2001

The daughter of American publisher and financier Eugene Meyer, Katharine Graham later carried forward her family’s newspaper, The Washington Post. While the newspaper was initially handed over to her husband, Philip Graham, by her father, she took over as the owner, following Philip’s suicide. She later penned a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir.

 3 
Carter Woodson
(Historian)
Carter Woodson
4
Birthdate: December 19, 1875
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New Canton, Virginia, United States
Died: April 3, 1950

Historian Carter Woodson was is remembered for pioneering Black studies in schools and colleges. He began the Negro History Week, which is now celebrated as the Black History Month. Poverty had pushed him to work in the coal mines initially, and he couldn’t join high school before 20.

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 4 
Bennett Cerf
(American Publisher and Co-Founder of Publishing Firm 'Random House')
Bennett Cerf
4
Birthdate: May 25, 1898
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, United States
Died: August 27, 1971

Bennett Cerf was an American publisher and writer. He is credited with co-founding the popular publishing firm, Random House. Cerf was also a TV personality, appearing regularly on a panel game show titled What's My Line for over 17 years.

 5 
Alison Tyler
(Author, Editor and Publisher of Contemporary Erotica)
Alison Tyler
4
Birthdate: 1969 AD
Birthplace: Los Angeles County, California, United States

Alison Tyler is the pen name of an American writer, editor, and publisher. The publisher of erotica, Tyler is credited with writing over 20 explicit novels. She has also edited over 60 erotic anthologies and is credited with founding her own publishing company called Pretty Things Press. Her work, which focuses on erotic themes, has been translated into many languages.

 6 
Jann Wenner
(Co-Founder and Publisher of the Popular Culture Magazine 'Rolling Stone')
Jann Wenner
6
Birthdate: January 7, 1947
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York City, United States

Jann Wenner is an American magazine mogul best known as the co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine. He is also credited with co-founding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other popular publications like Outside. During the 1970s and 1980s, Wenner played a key role in popularizing several writers like Greil Marcus, Hunter S. Thompson, and Cameron Crowe.

 7 
Jim Lee
(Comic Book Artist, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of 'DC Comics')
Jim Lee
8
Birthdate: August 11, 1964
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea

Korean-American comic-book artist Jim Lee began his career with Marvel and then soared to fame with his X-Men series. Though initially trained in psychology, he skipped medical school and became a comic writer instead. Apart from co-founding Image Comics, he also created WildStorm, which he sold to DC later.

 8 
Randolph Apperson Hearst
(Business People)
Randolph Apperson Hearst
4
Birthdate: December 2, 1915
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York, United States
Died: December 18, 2000
 9 
Robert Bernard Sherman
(Songwriter)
Robert Bernard Sherman
4
Birthdate: December 19, 1925
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York, US
Died: March 6, 2012
 10 
Bob Guccione
(Founder the Popular Adult Magazine 'Penthouse')
Bob Guccione
4
Birthdate: December 17, 1930
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: October 20, 2010

Porn tycoon Bob Guccione was the founder of the iconic Penthouse adult magazine. While he initially managed a laundromat chain and then drew cartoons for various publications, he later soared to fame with Penthouse and even photographed his models. A string of bad investments, including a failed casino, brought about his downfall.

 11 
Malcolm Forbes
(Businessperson)
Malcolm Forbes
4
Birthdate: August 19, 1919
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: February 24, 1990
 12 
Porter Stansberry
(Writer)
Porter Stansberry
4
Birthdate: February 2, 1970
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Not known
 13 
Will Eisner
(Cartoonist)
Will Eisner
4
Birthdate: March 16, 1917
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: January 3, 2005
 14 
Kevin Eastman
(American Comic Book Artist and Writer)
Kevin Eastman
4
Birthdate: May 30, 1962
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Portland, Maine, United States
 15 
Phil Graham
(Publisher)
Phil Graham
4
Birthdate: July 18, 1915
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Terry, South Dakota, United States
Died: August 3, 1963
 16 
Joe Simon
(Writer)
Joe Simon
3
Birthdate: October 11, 1913
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Rochester, New York, United States
Died: December 14, 2011
 17 
Elbert Hubbard
(Writer)
Elbert Hubbard
4
Birthdate: June 19, 1856
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bloomington, Illinois, United States
Died: May 7, 1915
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 18 
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
(Newspaper publisher)
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
4
Birthdate: May 25, 1879
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Maple, Vaughan, Canada
Died: June 9, 1964
 19 
Richard Elfman
(Actor)
Richard Elfman
4
Birthdate: March 6, 1949
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Watts, California, United States
 20 
Iain Dale
(British Broadcaster, Author and Political Commentator)
Iain Dale
3
Birthdate: July 15, 1962
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cambridge, England
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 21 
Jared Taylor
(American White Supremacist and Editor of 'American Renaissance')
Jared Taylor
4
Birthdate: September 15, 1951
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kobe, Japan

Jared Taylor is a white supremacist who is credited with founding an online magazine named American Renaissance for which he serves as the editor. He also serves as the president of New Century Foundation, the magazine's parent organization, through which he has published many of his books. Over the years Jared Taylor has been accused of propagating racist ideologies.

 22 
Jack Chick
(American Cartoonist and Publisher)
Jack Chick
3
Birthdate: April 13, 1924
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: October 23, 2016
 23 
Michael Shermer
(Science Writer, Historian of Science and Founder of the 'Skeptic' Magazine)
Michael Shermer
4
Birthdate: September 8, 1954
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

Michael Shermer is an American historian of science and science writer. He is credited with founding The Skeptics Society, a nonprofit organization that aims at promoting scientific skepticism. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of the organization's magazine Skeptic. From 2001 to 2019, he was a major contributor to Scientific American magazine.

 24 
Chris Anderson
(Entrepreneur)
Chris Anderson
4
Birthdate: 1957 AD
Birthplace: Pakistan
 25 
Richard M. Sherman
(Songwriters)
Richard M. Sherman
4
Birthdate: June 12, 1928
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
 26 
Richard Desmond
(British Publisher and Businessman)
Richard Desmond
3
Birthdate: December 8, 1951
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hampstead, London, United Kingdom
 27 
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
(Officer, Poet, Writer, Publisher, Painter, Journalist)
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
4
Birthdate: March 24, 1919
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Yonkers
 28 
Eugene Meyer
(Financier)
Eugene Meyer
3
Birthdate: October 31, 1875
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: July 17, 1959
 29 
John H. Johnson
(Publisher, Entrepreneur)
John H. Johnson
3
Birthdate: January 19, 1918
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Arkansas City, Arkansas, United States
Died: August 8, 2005
 30 
Jim Shooter
(Comics artist, Publisher, Screenwriter)
Jim Shooter
3
Birthdate: September 27, 1951
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Pittsburgh
 31 
G. Willow Wilson
(Journalist, Writer, Comics writer, Science fiction writer)
G. Willow Wilson
3
Birthdate: August 31, 1982
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: New Jersey
 32 
Alfred Harmsworth
(British publisher)
Alfred Harmsworth
3
Birthdate: July 15, 1865
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chapelizod, Ireland
Died: August 14, 1922
 33 
Felix Dennis
(Publisher)
Felix Dennis
3
Birthdate: May 27, 1947
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England
Died: June 22, 2014
 34 
Sylvia Beach
(Bookseller)
Sylvia Beach
3
Birthdate: March 14, 1887
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Died: October 5, 1962
 35 
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere
(Publisher)
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere
3
Birthdate: April 26, 1868
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hampstead, England
Died: November 26, 1940
 36 
Joseph Medill Patterson Albright
(Businessman)
Joseph Medill Patterson Albright
3
Birthdate: 1937 AD
Birthplace: United States
 37 
Walter Annenberg
(Businessman)
Walter Annenberg
3
Birthdate: March 13, 1908
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: October 1, 2002
 38 
Ishmael Reed
(Poet)
Ishmael Reed
3
Birthdate: February 22, 1938
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
 39 
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
(Entrepreneur, Writer)
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
3
Birthdate: January 7, 1890
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Greeneville, Tennessee, United States
Died: September 21, 1965
 40 
William Gaines
(Publisher)
William Gaines
3
Birthdate: March 1, 1922
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: June 3, 1992
 41 
Ernst Zundel
(German Neo-Nazi Publisher)
Ernst Zundel
4
Birthdate: April 24, 1939
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bad Wildbad Calmbach, Free People's State of Württemberg Württemberg, Germany
Died: August 5, 2017
 42 
Harry F. Byrd
(Politician, Publisher)
Harry F. Byrd
0
Birthdate: June 10, 1887
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States
Died: October 20, 1966
 43 
Frank Knox
(Politician)
Frank Knox
3
Birthdate: January 1, 1874
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts United States
Died: April 28, 1944
 44 
Carmine Infantino
(Artist)
Carmine Infantino
3
Birthdate: May 24, 1925
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: April 4, 2013
 45 
Irving Kristol
(Journalist)
Irving Kristol
3
Birthdate: January 22, 1920
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Died: September 18, 2009
 46 
Caresse Crosby
(American Publisher and Socialite)
Caresse Crosby
3
Birthdate: April 20, 1891
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: January 26, 1970
 47 
Frederik Pohl
(Author)
Frederik Pohl
3
Birthdate: November 26, 1919
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: September 2, 2013
 48 
Paul Raymond
(English Entrepreneur and Publisher)
Paul Raymond
3
Birthdate: November 15, 1925
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Died: March 2, 2008
 49 
David Garnett
(Writer)
David Garnett
3
Birthdate: March 9, 1892
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Brighton, England
Died: February 17, 1981
 50 
Erik Larsen
(American Comic Book Artist, Writer and Publisher)
Erik Larsen
3
Birthdate: December 8, 1962
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States