1889 -- 1971
John Reith was born in Stonehaven on July 20, 1889. He studied in Glasgow before entering the field of radio communication. He became the first general
manager of the BBC in 1922 and continued on as its director-general from 1927 until 1938. He was the architect of public service broadcasting in the UK.
In 1940 he became an MP and served as minister of works and buildings from1940 until 1942. For his influence on broadcasting the BBC inaugurated the
Reith Lectures in 1948 and he was created a baron in 1940. He died in Edinburgh in 1971. |
