Thayer Hobson

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

Biography

He 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]

Hobson 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 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. 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. His third wife, from 1930 to 1935, was Laura Kean Zametkin, who as Laura Z. Hobson was author of the novel Gentleman's Agreement. He was later married to Isabelle Lavis Garrabrants and Elizabeth Tonkin Davis.

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]

Death

Hobson died on October 19, 1967, in San Antonio, Texas.^[2]

References