Hamlyn, Paul, Baron

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HAMLYN, PAUL, BARON

HAMLYN, PAUL, BARON (1926–2001), British publisher. Born Paul Hamburger in Vienna, the son of a professor of pediatrics, Hamlyn came to England with his family in 1933. He left school at 15 and changed his name to "Hamlyn," unlike his brother, the poet and translator Michael *Hamburger (1926– ). After a series of odd jobs, including a period of work as a coal miner, Hamlyn became a book remainder merchant and then a publisher. By the late 1960s he was the head of a large-scale publishing conglomerate, ipc. He later became a partner with Rupert Murdoch in News International and Octopus Books. By the 1980s he had become one of the richest men in England, while his original firm, Paul Hamlyn Ltd., had absorbed such old-established publishers as Heinemann and Butterworth. A longstanding supporter of the Labour Party, Hamlyn was given a life peerage in 1998.

bibliography:

odnb Supplement for 2001.

[William D. Rubinstein (2nd ed.)]

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