Frank Cass (11 July 1930 – 9 August 2007) was a British publisher. He was the founder of Frank Cass & Co., an imprint of books and journals of history and the social sciences acquired by Taylor & Francis in 2003.

Early life

Frank Cass was born on 11 July 1930 in London. His father was a cabinetmaker, and his mother was of Polish descent. During the Second World War he was evacuated to Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Cass was educated at the

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

. and the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

Career

Cass began his career as a bookseller at The Economist Bookshop in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mu ...

, central London. In 1953, he opened his own bookshop on

Southampton Row The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station. Kingsway Kingsway is a major road in central London, designat ...

. Cass founded a publishing imprint, Frank Cass & Co., in 1957. He first published books of history and the social sciences whose copyright had expired. He later published new research, including biographies and military histories. By the late 1960s, he purchased the Woburn Press, a publishing house of works of literature. He also started publishing academic journals, beginning with ''Middle Eastern Studies'' in 1964. He later published ''

Business History Business history is a historiographical field which examines the history of firms, business methods, government regulation and the effects of business on society. It also includes biographies of individual firms, executives, and entrepreneurs. ...

'', ''

The Journal of Peasant Studies ''The Journal of Peasant Studies'', subtitled ''Critical Perspectives on Rural Politics and Development'', is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research into the social structures, institutions, actors, and processes of change in ...

'', ''The Journal of Commonwealth and Imperial History'', ''West European Politics'', ''Slavery and Abolition'', ''Immigrants and Minorities'', ''Intelligence and National Security'', ''Jewish Culture and History'' and ''Holocaust Studies''. Cass purchased Vallentine Mitchell, an imprint of Jewish books, in 1971. In 1972, he purchased the scripts of ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

''. In 1974, he purchased the Irish Academic Press, which included the 1,000 volumes of British Parliamentary Papers from 1801 to 1901. Cass made much of his wealth through the Irish Academic Press. He also founded Vallentine Mitchell Academic in 2003. That year, Cass sold most of his journals to Taylor & Francis for £15 million. However, he retained ownership of ''Jewish Culture and History'' and ''Holocaust Studies''.

Personal life and death

Cass married Audrey Steele. They had a son and a daughter. He was Jewish, and he attended a synagogue. He died on 9 August 2007, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cass, Frank 1930 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic Publishers (people) from London English people of Polish descent English Jews 20th-century English businesspeople