Henry Luce: What Influence Means

Henry Luce was an American publisher who was known as “the most influential private citizen in the US of his day.” He built an empire of magazines which became instrumental in changing and shaping journalism and the reading habits of upper class Americans. Among the most popular brands of Luce’s magazines included Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated. All these magazines are still in circulation today.

Luce was born on April 3, 1898 in Tengchow, China. His parents sent him to US when he was 15. He studied at Hotchkiss School where he became the editor of Hotchkiss Literary Monthly. He took his college education at Yale College where he met Briton Hadded who became his wife. Luce and Ladden worked for The Yale Daily News.

When they were both aged 23, Luce and Hadden brainstormed and discussed the concept of a news magazine. 1922, the couple founded Time Inc. and published the magazine’s first issue on March 3, 1923. Their other magazines followed shortly: Fortune in February 1930, Life in 1934, House & Home in 1952 and Sports Illustrated in 1954. His first newsreel was The March of Time.