Sir Basil Henry Blackwell (29 May 1889 – 9 April 1984) was an English bookseller.
Blackwell was born inOxford,England. He was the son ofBenjamin Henry Blackwell (1849–1924), founder ofBlackwell's bookshop inOxford, which went on to become the Blackwell family'spublishing andbookshop empire, located onBroad Street in central Oxford.[1] The publishing arm is now part ofWiley-Blackwell.
He was educated atMagdalen College School, Oxford andMerton College, Oxford.[2][3] He was the first person in his family to attend university. In 1913, he began working with his father at Blackwell's. Upon his father's death in 1924, he took over the company and remained working there for decades. He married Marion Christine Soans.[when?] Their daughter was DamePenelope Jessel.[1]
He was made aKnight Bachelor in 1956 byQueen Elizabeth II,[2][3] the only bookseller ever to receive that honour.[citation needed] In 1959, he was elected to anhonorary Fellowship at Merton.[3] In 1970, he was given the honorary Freedom of the City of Oxford.[4]
In 1979, he was awarded aDoctorate of Civil Lawhonoris causa at theOxfordEncaenia.
Blackwell was a prosecutionwitness in the 1966private prosecution attempt to bar the bookLast Exit to Brooklyn fromUK publication.[citation needed]
