Sir Robert Frith Lusty (7 June 1909 – 23 July 1991) was a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. Robert Lusty was born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and educated by the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Sidcot School Sidcot School is a British co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the Mendip Hills near the village of W ...

. He became an apprentice reporter at the ''

Kent Messenger The ''Kent Messenger'' is a weekly newspaper serving the mid-Kent area. It is published in three editions - Maidstone, Malling, and the Weald. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays. History The ''Kent Messenger'' grew fr ...

'' in 1927 but was forced to resign because of heart problems. In 1928 he was taken on by Walter Hutchinson, the publisher. He learned the trade so well that in 1933 he was appointed manager of the associated company Selwyn & Blount. In 1935 he left to join Michael Joseph Ltd at its foundation by Michael Joseph and rose to the post of Deputy Chairman. In 1956 he returned to Hutchinson as Managing Director and remained there until his retirement in 1973. Lusty was a Governor of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1960 to 1968 and was briefly Acting Chairman before the full-time appointment of Lord Hill of Luton. He was knighted in 1969. He married Joan Christie Brownlie in 1939 (who died in 1962) and Eileen, the widow of Dennis Carroll, in 1963.

Works

*''Bound to be Read'', Cape, 1975. . Lusty's autobiography.

References

1909 births 1991 deaths People from Cheltenham British publishers (people) BBC governors People educated at Sidcot School {{BBC-stub