COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 51113

Book Pub-lishers

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

26companies1798–1997founding years26still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedThomas Nelson, Inc.
1798
FoundedHavas SA
1835
FoundedRand McNally & Company
1856
FoundedWolters Kluwer NV
1882
FoundedPearson plc
1897
FoundedMeredith Corporation
1902
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedHoughton Mifflin Company
1908
FoundedThe Boy Scouts of America
1910
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedScholastic Corporation
1920
FoundedKodansha Ltd.FoundedRandom House Inc.
1925
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedDover Publications Inc.
1942
FoundedTaylor Publishing Company
1943
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedVerlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH
1948
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedKrause Publications, Inc.
1964
FoundedChrysalis Group plc
1968
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedNews Corporation Limited
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedSuccessories, Inc.
1990
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Thomas Nelson, Inc. →
Active · founded 1798
Thomas Nelson, Inc.--with roots dating to 1798--is the world's largest publisher of Bibles and Bible-related materials.
Havas SA →
Active · founded 1835 · France
Havas SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of utilities and telecommunications giant Vivendi SA, is the largest publishing…
Rand McNally & Company →
Active · founded 1856
Rand McNally & Company, a leading U.S.
Reed Elsevier plc →
Active · founded 1880 · United Kingdom
Reed Elsevier plc is the joint venture of London-based Reed International plc and Netherlands-based Elsevier N.V.
Wolters Kluwer NV →
Active · founded 1882 · The Netherlands
Wolters Kluwer NV is one of the worldwide leaders in publishing, and the Netherlands' second largest publisher after…
Pearson plc →
Active · founded 1897 · United Kingdom
Since the mid-1990s, Pearson plc has transformed itself from a industrial holding company with a large and sometimes…
Dr. August Oetker KG →
Active · founded 1902 · Germany
Dr.
Meredith Corporation →
Active · founded 1902
Meredith Corporation is a leading media company, focused primarily on magazines and broadcasting.
Houghton Mifflin Company →
Active · founded 1908
Houghton Mifflin Company is an established leader in textbook publishing, providing indispensable materials for the…
Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc. →
Active · founded 1910
Since 1996 when a new investor group took control of the company, Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc., a leading…
The Boy Scouts of America →
Active · founded 1910
Rooted in Victorian values, The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is a 20th-century phenomenon and a powerful civic force.
Scholastic Corporation →
Active · founded 1920
The Scholastic Corporation is one of the leading publishers and distributors of books, magazines, and other educational…
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1923
W.W.
Kodansha Ltd. →
Active · founded 1925 · Japan
Kodansha Ltd.
Random House Inc. →
Active · founded 1925
Random House Inc.
Dover Publications Inc. →
Active · founded 1942
Dover Publications Inc.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. →
Active · founded 1943
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., has published one of the world's finest encyclopedias for more than two centuries.
Taylor Publishing Company →
Active · founded 1943
Taylor Publishing Company is one of the leading publishers of yearbooks in the United States, producing them for more…
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH →
Active · founded 1948 · Germany
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH is the holding company for Germany's fourth largest publishing and media…
Torstar Corporation →
Active · founded 1958 · www.torstar.com
The Torstar Corporation is a diversified publisher based in Toronto, with three major business segments: newspapers,…
Krause Publications, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
Krause Publications, Inc.
Chrysalis Group plc →
Active · founded 1968 · United Kingdom
Chrysalis Group plc is a U.K.-based media and entertainment company that owns radio stations, produces television…
Andrews McMeel Universal →
Active · founded 1970
Andrews McMeel Universal is a diversified publishing and media company that includes under its umbrella one of the…
News Corporation Limited →
Active · founded 1979 · Australia
News Corporation Limited is the holding company for the large range of enterprises created or acquired since the 1950s…
Successories, Inc. →
Active · founded 1990
Successories, Inc.
American Lawyer Media Holdings, Inc. →
Active · founded 1997
American Lawyer Media Holdings, Inc., a holding company formed in 1997, is a leading publisher for the legal profession.
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