Thayer Hobson (September 4, 1897 – October 19, 1967) was president and chairman of the board of

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. ...

Background

Francis Thayer Hobson was born on September 4, 1897, and had a brother, Henry Wise Hobson Jr., who became a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. He had a sister, Eleanor Whiteside Hobson (1893–1986). He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

but left before graduation to join the French army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career

In 1917, he served as a machine gunner for the American Expeditionary Force but was wounded and was sent home in 1918. He returned to Yale University and worked as the business manager for the '' Yale Daily News''. Hobson graduated Yale in 1920 and then worked as an English teacher at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. From 1922 to 1924, he did postgraduate work at Yale. When William Morrow died in 1931, Hobson bought control of

and made himself president. While at Morrow, Hobson was the publisher of

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American lawyer and author. He is best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction b ...

, who wrote the

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

series. In 1958 he became Chairman of the Board.

Personal and death

In 1925, he divorced his first wife. In 1925, he went to Paris to study at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. His second wife was Priscilla Harriet Fansler, who after their divorce married Alger Hiss and became Priscilla Hiss. His third wife, from 1930 to 1935, was Laura Kean Zametkin who, as

Laura Z. Hobson Laura Zametkin Hobson (June 19, 1900 – February 28, 1986) was an American writer, best known for her novels ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and ''Consenting Adult'' (1975). Early life and career Laura Kean Zametkin was born on June 19, 1900So ...

, wrote the acclaimed novel about antisemitism ''

Gentleman's Agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...

'' and other novels. He was later married to Isabelle Lavis Garrabrants and Elizabeth Tonkin Davis. Hobson died on October 19, 1967, in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Francis Thayer 1897 births 1967 deaths Yale University alumni