R. R. Bowker

Richard Rogers Bowker (September 4, 1848 – November 12, 1933) was an American journalist and businessman who was an editor of Publishers Weekly and Harper's Magazine, and a founder of the R. R. Bowker Company.

Early life and education

Richard Rogers Bowker was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848, to a successful, educated family.

His paternal grandfather, Joel Bowker (1775–1858) rose from a grocery clerk to a leading merchant and part owner of sailing vessels. Bowker Place in Salem is named after Joel Bowker.

His mother, Theresa Maria Bowker (née Savory; 1825–1906), was the daughter of Richard Savory (1781–1841), who owned a large cooperage in Salem. His father, Daniel Rogers Bowker (1820–1895), was a partner in a prestigious business enterprise involving the sale of coal and salt in Salem until the financial panic in 1857, coupled with the death of the leading partner in the business, caused the business to fail.

The family moved to New York City, where Bowker's father started a barrel-making business. The business never prospered, so the family never regained the affluence it had enjoyed. The plan for Bowker to attend Harvard University had to be scrapped. He attended the Free School in 1863 and entered the City College of New York in 1866.

At City College, he founded, edited, managed and published The Collegian, one of the first college newspapers in the country. He was an organizer and member of the student senate. Bowker was instrumental in establishing a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at the college, but was blackballed from membership by the school's president for his "radical" activities in student government and the student newspaper. Years later the injustice was corrected. In 1868, he graduated with a B.A. in journalism.