Robert Maxwell

:This article is about the publisher. There was also a songwriter named Robert Maxwell.

Early life

Robert Maxwell was born Ján Ludvik Hoch in the small town of Slatinské Dôly, Slovakia, (now Solotvino, Ukraine) into a poor Jewish family. In 1939, the area was occupied by Nazi Germany. Most of his family was killed by the Nazis, but he escaped, arriving in Britain in 1940 as a 17-year-old refugee. He joined the British Army, where his intelligence and gift for languages gained him rapid promotion.

Related Topics:
Slatinské Dôly - Slovakia - Solotvino - Ukraine - Jew - 1939 - Nazi Germany - 1940 - British Army

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After the war Maxwell used various contacts to go into business in Allied-occupied Germany, becoming the British and United States distributor for Springer Verlag, a publisher of scientific books. In 1951 he bought Pergamon Press, a minor textbook publisher, from Springer Verlag, and went into publishing on his own. He rapidly built Pergamon into a major publishing house.

Related Topics:
Germany - United States - 1951

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By the 1960s Maxwell was a wealthy man, while still espousing the socialism of his youth. In 1964 he was elected to the House of Commons for the British Labour Party, and was MP for Buckingham until he lost his seat in 1970. He was not popular in the Labour Party, having what was perceived by some to be an arrogant and domineering manner.

Related Topics:
Socialism - 1964 - House of Commons - British Labour Party - Buckingham - 1970

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Maxwell had also already acquired a reputation for questionable business practice. In 1969, as a result of a disputed takeover bid for Pergamon from an American company, he was subjected to an enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI report concluded: "We regret having to conclude that, notwithstanding Mr Maxwell's acknowledged abilities and energy, he is not in our opinion a person who can be relied on to exercise proper stewardship of a publicly quoted company."

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