Albert Nelson Marquis (January 10, 1855 - December 21, 1943) was a Chicago publisher best known for creating the ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' book series, starting with ''Who's Who in America'' which was first published in 1899.(22 December 1943)
Albert N. Marquis, Who's Who Editor. Founder of the Biographical Dictionary of Notables in America is Dead at 89
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Marquis was born in

Decatur, Ohio Decatur is an unincorporated community in eastern Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels ...

raised by his maternal grandparents in nearby Hamersville. At age 21 he founded the A.N. Marquis & Company in Cincinnati, and moved to Chicago in 1884. His early publications were generally guide books, directories, and maps. He was the full owner of ''Who's Who'' until 1926,The Book of Chicagoans
p. 459 (1911) and remained as "editor in chief" of the publication until 1940. Marquis also published specialized versions ''Who's Who'', including occupation-specific and location-specific editions. Marquis died of heart trouble at his home in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

on December 21, 1943.(22 December 1943). "Who's Who' Editor Dies at Age of 88", ''

Nevada State Journal The ''Reno Gazette Journal'' is the main daily newspaper for Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. It came into being when the ''Nevada State Journal'' (founded on November 23, 1870) and the ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (foun ...

'' (UP story), p. 9 col. 1.

References

External links

Historical marker to A.N. Marquis in Decatur, Ohio
via remarkableohio.com American book publishers (people) 1855 births 1943 deaths People from Brown County, Ohio Businesspeople from Chicago People from Evanston, Illinois {{US-publish-bio-stub