Paul Reuter: A Legacy that has Transcended Time

Paul Reuter was a German-born British businessman, journalist and media owner. He pioneered the business of telegraphy and news reporting. He founded the Reuters news agency, which is still in operations until today.

Reuter was born on July 21, 1816 in Kassel, Germany. He was born as Israel Beer Josafat. He moved to London in October 1845 using the name Joseph Josephat. He was converted to Christianity on November 16, 1845. Reuter changed his name to Paul Julius Reuter after a simple Christian ceremony held at St. George’s German Lutheran Chapel in London. On November 23, 1845, Reuter married Ida Maria Elizabeth Clementine in Berlin.

While in Berlin, Reuter worked with a bank as clerk. In 1847 he became a partner in the Berlin-based book publishing company Reuter and Stargardt. At the onset of the Revolutions of 1848, Reuter and Stargardt distributed radical pamphlets which led the authorities to scrutinize Reuter. Later in 1848, Reuter decided to move to Paris where he worked with the news agency of Charles-Louis Havas, which was known later as Agence France Presse.

While telegraphy was evolving, he established the Reuters News Agency in Aachen. Reuters News Agency used pigeon carriers to transfer messages between Brussels and Aachen, solving the missing link between Berlin and Paris. Since the carrier pigeons were relatively faster than post trains, Reuter got to the stock news off the Paris Stock Exchange first.

Reuter moved his office at the London Stock Exchange in 1851. At that time, Reuters was known as one of the world’s major financial news agencies. On March 17, 1857, Reuter became a naturalized British citizen. The German Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha conferred on Reuter the title of Baron on September 7, 1871. Queen Victoria confirmed the title later on and conferred on him the privileges of nobility.

Reuter died on February 25, 1899 in Nice, France. The Reuters News Agency commemorated the 100th death anniversary of Reuter on February 25, 1999 by launching the Paul Julius Reuter Innovation Award.