Henry Francis Regnery | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1912-01-05)January 5, 1912 Hinsdale, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 1996(1996-06-18) (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Henry Francis Regnery, Sr. |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | Eleanor Scattergood |
| Children | 4, includingAlfred S. Regnery |
| Parent(s) | William Henry Regnery Francis Susan Thrasher |
| Relatives |
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Henry Francis Regnery (1912–1996) was a conservative American publisher who founded the newspaperHuman Events (1944) and theHenry Regnery Company (1947) and publishedRussell Kirk's classic workThe Conservative Mind (1953).[1][2][3][4]
Regnery was born on January 5, 1912,[5] inHinsdale, Illinois, the second-youngest of five children of Frances Susan Thrasher andWilliam Henry Regnery, a wealthy Catholic textile manufacturer who had emigrated fromEnsch, Germany.[1][3][4][6][7]
He obtained a BS inMathematics from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1933,[8] and an MA fromHarvard University, where he worked withJoseph Schumpeter.[1][2][3][4]
He also studied atArmour Institute of Technology, and from 1934 to 1936 at theUniversity of Bonn.[1][4][6]
After graduation, Regnery worked for theNew Deal'sResettlement Administration[2] (around the time thatWare Group memberLee Pressman left to go work forJohn L. Lewis at theCongress of Industrial Organizations).[improper synthesis?]
In 1944, Regnery financed the creation of the conservative newspaperHuman Events.[2]
In 1947, he founded the Henry Regnery Company, nowRegnery Publishing.[2][3][4] "[I]t was a measure of the grip that liberal-minded editors had on American publishing at the time that Regnery, which was founded in 1947, was one of only two houses known to be sympathetic to conservative authors," according to Henry Regnery's 1996 obituary.[2]
In 1951, Regnery publishedGod and Man at Yale, the first book written byWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. At that time, Regnery had a close affiliation with theUniversity of Chicago and published classics for theGreat Books series at the University, but he lost the contract as a result of publishing Buckley's book.[2] In 1953, Regnery publishedRussell Kirk'sThe Conservative Mind, as well as books byAlbert Jay Nock,James J. Kilpatrick, andJames Burnham. He also published paperback editions of literary works by novelistWyndham Lewis and poetsT. S. Eliot andEzra Pound.[2] In 1954, Regnery publishedMcCarthy and His Enemies byWilliam F. Buckley andL. Brent Bozell Jr. "Although Mr. Buckley [...] had criticized the senator for 'gross exaggerations,' Mr. McCarthy said he would not dispute the merits of the book with the authors," according to a news article inThe New York Times. While criticizing McCarthy, the book was sympathetic to him (and in fact was harsher on McCarthy's critics than it was on the senator for making false allegations[9]), and McCarthy attended a reception for the authors.[10]
In the early 1950s, Regnery published two books byRobert Welch, who went on to found theJohn Birch Society in 1958. InMay God Forgive Us, Welch criticized influential foreign-policy analysts and policymakers and accused many of working to further Communism as part of a conspiracy.[11] In 1954, Regnery published Welch's biography ofJohn Birch, an American Baptist missionary in China who was killed by Chinese Communists after he became a U.S. intelligence officer in World War II.
Regnery sold Henry Regnery Company and started Regnery Publishing, which son Alfred inherited.[2]
In the latter 1930s, Regnery became a member of theAmerica First Committee,[6] of which his father was a co-founder.Regnery was a member of theAmerican Friends Service Committee,theAmerican Conservatory of Music,and theChicago Literary Club.[8]He was a trustee ofShimer College in the early 1960s[12] and president of thePhiladelphia Society.[13]
Regnery married Eleanor Scattergood; they had four children:Alfred S. Regnery (1942), Henry Francis Regnery Jr. (1945),Susan Regnery Schnitzler, and Margaret Regnery Caron.[2][14] Their son Henry Francis Regnery Jr. was killed with the crash ofAmerican Airlines Flight 191 in 1979.[15]
Regnery died age 84 on June 18, 1996, in Chicago of complications of brain surgery.[2]
His nephew,William Regnery II, became the founder of the white nationalist organizationsCharles Martel Society andNational Policy Institute.
Works written by Regnery include:
Henry Regnery's papers are kept at theHoover Institution atStanford University.[27]
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