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John G. Ryan

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American publisher

John G. Ryan in 1956

John Gerard Ryan (1910–1989) was an American publisher, president of P.F. Collier & Son Corporation and of The Richards Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Grolier Incorporated. He was pivotal to the 1950s and 1960s expansion of the American encyclopedia business that placed reference libraries in millions of homes. He published and marketed Collier's Encyclopedia, The Harvard Classics, the New Book of Knowledge, the American Peoples Encyclopedia, and other reference works. Ryan helped middle and low income families afford in-home libraries by permitting customers to pay over time with small monthly payments.  

Ryan's profitable leadership of P.F. Collier & Son supplied the cash flow that kept its parent company, The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company (later renamed Macmillan, Inc), solvent in the 1950s as it closed its money-losing magazines, including Collier's, and grew into one of the world's largest book publishers. At P.F. Collier & Son, he employed the conservative intellectual William Terry Couch as editor of Collier’s Encyclopedia and instructed Couch to begin compilation of what became Collier’s Encyclopedia’s 24-volume 1962 edition. At Grolier, publishers of Encyclopedia Americana, he built The Richards Company, Inc., into Grolier's highest sales volume book division. Ryan also pioneered the sale of American encyclopedias in overseas markets.

Personal life

John Gerard Ryan was born July 11, 1910, in South Boston, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of Michael Ryan of Gortnacrusha, Ballinspittle, County Cork, Ireland and Julia McCarthy Ryan of Grange More, Timoleague, also in County Cork.  He was educated in Boston’s public schools. In 1937, he married Veronica Conlon, of Brooklyn, New York.  They had six children. A former resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, Ryan died in 1989 at his home in Tenafly, New Jersey.

References

  1. Kaslow, Joseph (December 29, 1955). "Named by Collier". New York Herald Tribune. p. A7.
  2. The Record, Hackensack, New Jersey, Feb 05, 1989 · Page 35
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica ends print run, Robert Channick, L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES, 14 Mar 2012, Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
  4. "300 Millionth Book". The Morning Call. March 31, 1957. p. 39.
  5. Shiflett, Orvin Lee (2013). William Terry Couch and the Politics of Academic Publishing: An Editor's Career as Lightning Rod for Controversy. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. p. 147. ISBN 978-0786499816.
  6. P.F. Collier Associates (1958). Twenty Five Eventful Years in the History of P.F. Collier Corporation, 1933-1958. New York, New York: P.F. Collier and Son Corporation.
  7. "CE Acceptance By Libraries Is Sales Aid,” Collier’s Cyclorama, Vol 2. No 4., P.F. Collier and Son Corporation, New York NY, July 1957. Page 2
  8. “Collier Book Output Passes 200 Millions,” Collier’s Cyclorama, Vol 1. No 2., P.F. Collier and Son Corporation, New York NY, March 1956. Page 1
  9. Publisher Eyes Dividends in ‘58” The Bridgeport Telegram, Bridgeport, Connecticut, 17 Jul 1957, Page 32. Retrieved 11 Jun 2021
  10. Colliers, ‘Companion” to stop publishing in Jan.". Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York) 15 Dec 1956, Sat Page 2. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  11. Crowell Collier to Absorb Macmillan Publishing Firm” The Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, 30 Jun 1960, Page 44. Retrieved 11 Jun 2021.
  12. “Crowell Collier is Buying Control of Macmillan,” The New York Times, New York, NY. 30 Jun 1960, Page 27. Retrieved 11 Jun 2021
  13. Orvin Lee Shiflett William Terry Couch and the Politics of Academic Publishing: An Editor's Career as Lightning Rod for Controversy (Jefferson, North Carolina): McFarland and Company, Inc. 2013) Page154.
  14. “New Collier’s Encyclopedia Has Astronaut Glenn’s Orbital Flight.” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky) 10 Jun 1962, Page 65. Retrieved 11 Jun 2021
  15. Federal Trade Commission ftc_volume_decision_91_january_-_june_1978pages_315-503.pdf page 338.
  16. 100 Fly to Paris, Collier Book Executives to Attend a Trade Convention., The New York Times. 24 Dec 1956
  17. Yearbook of the Society of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick in the City of New York. 1989. New York, New York. p106.
  18. "Returns Home; Ryan Presents Collier's Vatican Library WIth Collier Encyclopedia", The Record, December 20, 1955. Accessed February 1, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Teaneck - John G. Ryan of 365 Ogden Avenue, has returned from a 2-week business trip to Europe".
  19. "John G. Ryan", The Record, Feb 5, 1989, p. 35. Accessed February 1, 2022, via Newspapers.com.
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