Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson: Sustaining Publications Through Time

Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet was a British newspaper publisher who founded the Daily Express. Pearson was born on February 21, 1866 in Somerset. He attended the Winchester College in Hampshire. His first exposure as a journalist came through his first job at the magazine company of George Newnes, the TiT-Bits His stint at Tit-Bits was so impressive that Newnes promoted him as his principal assistant.

Six years later, Pearson left Tit-Bits to start his own publishing company in 1890. The first three weeks was a milestone for Pearson after Pearson’s Weekly, his periodical journal, sold 250,000 copies of its first issue. In 1892, Pearson established the Fresh Air Fund (known today as Pearson’s Holiday Fund) and allowed the less privileged children to participate in outdoor activities.

One of Pearson’s first expansions involved the acquisition of the Morning Herald in 1898 and merged it with Daily Express in 1900. Unlike other newspapers at that time, Daily Express featured news items on its front pages instead of advertisements only. Pearson also impacted the provinces with the creation of Birmingham Daily Gazette. In 1898, Pearson also created the monthly literary magazine The Royal Magazine.