| B. C. Forbes | |
|---|---|
 Forbes c. 1917 | |
| Born | Bertie Charles Forbes (1880-05-14)May 14, 1880 New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Died | May 6, 1954(1954-05-06) (aged 73) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Dundee, (then part of University of St Andrews) |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | Adelaide Mary Stevenson |
Bertie Charles Forbes (/fɔːrbz/; May 14, 1880 – May 6, 1954) was a Scottish-American financial journalist and author who founded Forbes magazine.
Early life and education
Forbes was born in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Agnes (Moir) and Robert Forbes, a storekeeper and tailor at Whitehill, one of their ten children. Forbes attended University College, Dundee (now known as the University of Dundee), which was then part of the University of St Andrews.
Career
In 1897, Forbes worked as a reporter and editorial writer with a local newspaper until 1901 when he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he worked on the Rand Daily Mail under its first editor, Edgar Wallace. He emigrated to New York City in the United States in 1904 where he was employed as a writer and financial editor at the Journal of Commerce before joining the Hearst chain of newspapers as a syndicated columnist in 1911. After two years, he became the business and financial editor at Hearst's New York American, where he remained until 1916.
He founded Forbes magazine in 1917 and remained the magazine's editor-in-chief until his death in New York City in 1954, though he was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes.
Forbes was the founder of the Investors League in 1942.
Death
He died on May 6, 1954. In 1988, his body was returned to his native Scotland, and lies buried in the New Deer Churchyard at Hill of Culsh in New Deer, Aberdeenshire. While living abroad, he returned to Buchan every two years, staying in the Cruden Bay Hotel, "to entertain people of Whitehill to a picnic". It was a tradition revived by his son, Malcolm, in 1987.
Published works
Forbes authored nine books:
- Finance, Business and the Business of Life (1915)
- Men Who Are Making America (1917)
- Keys to Success or Personal Efficiency (1918)
- Forbes Epigrams (1922)
- Men Who are Making the West (1923)
- Automotive Giants of America (1925)
- How to Get the Most Out of Business (1927)
- 101 Unusual Experiences (1952)
- America's Twelve Master Salesmen (1952)
References
- ^ "Forbes, Head Of Business Magazine, Dies". Chicago Tribune. 7 May 1954. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ McKean (1990), p. 78
- "Forbes, B. C. (1880–1954), financial journalist and publisher".
- "B. C. Forbes Dies; Publisher, Was 73; Financial, Business Writer Had Magazine 30 Years, Was Syndicated Columnist". The New York Times. 7 May 1954. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
Bibliography
- McKean, Charles (1990), Banff & Buchan, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, ISBN 978-1-85158-231-0
External links
- Works by or about B. C. Forbes at the Internet Archive
- Online Books by B. C. Forbes at The Online Books Page
- Bertie Charles Forbes papers at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center
- 1880 births
- 1954 deaths
- 20th-century Scottish businesspeople
- Alumni of the University of St Andrews
- Alumni of the University of Dundee
- American business writers
- American columnists
- American financial writers
- American male journalists
- American magazine editors
- American magazine publishers (people)
- British business and financial journalists
- British business writers
- Forbes family (publishers)
- People from New Deer
- Scottish company founders
- Scottish columnists
- Scottish emigrants to the United States
- Scottish journalists
- Scottish magazine editors
- Scottish magazine publishers (people)
- Scottish non-fiction writers
- Journalists from New York City