Thomson, Lord (1894-1976), Roy Herbert Thomson, Baron Thomson of Fleet, was a leading Canadian-born newspaper publisher. He owned newspapers, magazines, and printing companies in Canada and in several other countries. Thomson also owned radio and television stations in Canada and other countries.
Thomson was born on June 5, 1894, in Toronto, Canada. He began his career by selling radio sets, then opened a chain of radio stations to improve business. He bought his first newspaper at the age of 40 and eventually became one of Canada’s leading newspaper publishers. In 1953, Thomson settled in the United Kingdom and bought The Scotsman, a daily newspaper based in Edinburgh. He launched Scotland’s first independent television company in 1957. In 1959, he bought Kemsley Newspapers, which included the Sunday Times. Thomson became a British citizen in 1963 and received a peerage in 1964. In 1966, he acquired a controlling interest in The Times. Thomson died on Aug. 6, 1976.
