John Reith, 1st Baron Reith

The Lord Reith
Reith in 1934
1st Director-General of the BBC
In office
1 January 1927 – 30 June 1938
MonarchsGeorge V
Edward VIII
George VI
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byFrederick Ogilvie
Minister of Information
In office
5 January 1940 – 12 May 1940
Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain
Preceded byHugh Macmillan
Succeeded byDuff Cooper
Personal details
Born
John Charles Walsham Reith

(1889-07-20)20 July 1889
Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland
Died16 June 1971(1971-06-16) (aged 81)
Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
Resting placeRothiemurchus chapel, Aviemore, Inverness-shire, Scotland
Spouse
Muriel Reith
(m. 1921)
Children2, including Marista
Occupation
  • Broadcasting Executive
  • Engineer
  • Politician
  • Soldier

John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC (/ˈrθ/; 20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971) was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922, he was employed by the BBC, then the British Broadcasting Company Ltd., as its general manager; in 1923 he became its managing director, and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a royal charter. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organisations around the world. An engineer by profession, and standing at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall, he was a larger-than-life figure who was a pioneer in his field.[1]

The BBC's Reith Lectures were instituted in his honour.

  1. ^ "Lord Reith – Creator of British broadcasting and first BBC Director-General". The Times. 17 June 1971. p. 17.