Thayer Hobson

Thayer Hobson
Born Francis Thayer Hobson
September 4, 1897(1897-09-04)
Denver, Colorado
Died October 19, 1967(1967-10-19) (aged 70)
Nix Memorial Hospital
San Antonio, Texas
Employer William Morrow and Company
Spouse Janet Camp (m. c1920-1925)
Priscilla Harriet Fansler (m. 1925-c1929)
Laura Kean Zametkin (m. 1930-1935)
Isabelle Lavis Garrabrants (m. 1935-1960)
Elizabeth Tonkin Davis (m. 1960-1967)
Children Tim Hobson
Peter W. Hobson
Thayer Jennings Hobson Estes
Parents Henry Wise Hobson I
Katherine Sophia Thayer
Relatives Henry Wise Hobson II, brother

Francis Thayer Hobson (September 4, 1897 - October 19, 1967) was president and in 1958 he became chairman of the board of William Morrow and Company.[1][2]

Contents

Biography

He was born on September 4, 1897 and he had a brother, Henry Wise Hobson, Jr., who became a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. He had a sister, Eleanor Whiteside Hobson (1893–1986), who married George Miner MacKenzie.[3]

Thayer attended Yale University but left before graduation to join the French army during World War I. 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 he worked as the business manager for the Yale Daily News. Hobson graduated Yale in 1920 then he worked as an English teacher at Westminster School and at Yale College. From 1922 to 1924 he did postgraduate work at Yale. In 1925 he divorced his first wife. In 1925-1926 he went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne.[1] His second wife was Priscilla Harriet Fansler, who after their divorce married Alger Hiss.

William Morrow and Company

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] On August 25, 1960, his daughter married Joel C. Estes.[4] On June 24, 1962 Peter W. Hobson married Diana Ferris. She was a student at Yale University.[5]

Death

Hobson died on October 19, 1967 at Nix Memorial Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Thayer Hobson, 1897-1967". University of Texas. http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/hobson.bio.html. Retrieved 2008-06-24. 
  2. ^ a b "Thayer Hobson, Publisher Dies. Board Chairman of William Morrow & Co., Dies at 70.". New York Times. October 20, 1967. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D13F6395F107B93C2AB178BD95F438685F9. 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. ^ . PMC 2248817. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2248817. 
  4. ^ "Thayer Hobson, Briarcliff 1959, Becomes Bride. Has 8 Attendants at Wedding in St. James' to Joel C. Estes.". New York Times. 
  5. ^ "Peter W. Hobson And Miss Ferris Wed in Navesink. 12 Attend Bride at Her Marriage in Jersey to Student at Yale.". New York Times. June 24, 1962. "All Saints Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church was the setting here this afternoon for the marriage of Miss Diana Ferris. ... He is the son of Francis Thayer Hobson of Bedding, Conn., and the late Mrs, Isabelle Garrabrants Hobson. The Right Rev. Henry Wise Hobson, retired Bishop of ..."