Thayer Hobson

Thayer Hobson (September 4, 1897 – October 19, 1967) was president and chairman of the board of William Morrow and Company.[1][2]

Thayer Hobson
Born
Francis Thayer Hobson

(1897-09-04)September 4, 1897
Denver, Colorado
DiedOctober 19, 1967(1967-10-19) (aged 70)
Nix Memorial Hospital
San Antonio, Texas
EmployerWilliam Morrow and Company
Spouse(s)Janet Camp (m. c1920-1925)
Priscilla Harriet Fansler (m. 1925-c1929, later Priscilla Hiss)
Laura Zametkin (m. 1930-1935)
Isabelle Lavis Garrabrants (m. 1935-1960)
Elizabeth Tonkin Davis (m. 1960-1967)
RelativesHenry Wise Hobson II, brother

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).[3] He attended Yale University but left before graduation to join the French army during World War I.[1]

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 and at Yale College. From 1922 to 1924, he did postgraduate work at Yale.[1]

When William Morrow died in 1931, Hobson bought control of William Morrow and Company and made himself president. While at Morrow, Hobson was the publisher of Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote the Perry Mason series. In 1958 he became Chairman of the Board.[1]

Personal and death

In 1925, he divorced his first wife. In 1925, he went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne.[1] 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 wrote the acclaimed novel of antisemitism Gentleman's Agreement 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.[2]

References
  1. "Thayer Hobson, 1897-1967". University of Texas. Archived from the original on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  2. "Thayer Hobson, Publisher Dies. Board Chairman of William Morrow & Co., Dies at 70". New York Times. October 20, 1967. Retrieved 2008-06-24. Thayer Hobson, who was president of William Morrow Co., book publishers, for 27 years until he became chairman of the board in 1958, died yesterday at Nix Memorial Hospital, San Antonio, Tex., after a long illness. He was 70 years old and lived at the Deer Ledge Ranch, Comfort, Tex.
  3. BORDLEY J 3rd (1952). "George Miner Mackenzie, M. D". Trans. Am. Clin. Climatol. Assoc. 64: lxiv–lxvi. PMC 2248817. PMID 13136205.
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