Sir John Gilbert Newton Brown
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(7 July 1916 – 3 March 2003) was Publisher of the
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
and has been credited as one of the great leaders of British publishing throughout its post
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
recovery.
The Independent
/ref>
He was born on 7 July 1916 and was educated at Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
and Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...
. After university, he travelled to India to join the Oxford University Press at its Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
branch in 1937. At the outbreak of war, Brown was commissioned into the Bombay Light Horse before transferring to the Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and spent the remaining war years as a prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
.
Following release, he rejoined the OUP
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
in London in 1946 and was appointed sales manager in 1949 and publisher in 1956. He was elected president of the Publishers' Association in 1963 and helped to found the Book Development Council with John Attenborough. Brown left the OUP to join the Blackwell Publishing Group in the 1980s. He rose to be group vice-president in 1987, a position he held until his death in 2003.
Brown was appointed CBE in 1966 and knighted in 1974. He is survived by his wife, son and two daughters.
Notes
References
The Independent
*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1424335/Sir-John-Brown.html
*http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-1750976.html
Category
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John Gilbert Newton
1916 births
2003 deaths
People educated at Lancing College
Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford
Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Bachelor
English book publishers (people)
Oxford University Press people
Royal Artillery officers
British Army personnel of World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Japan
Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford
British World War II prisoners of war
20th-century English businesspeople