Clair Maxwell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clair Maxwell (1890–1957) was a 20th-century American magazine publisher.
Maxwell was born in 1890 in South Dakota. He was one of eight children, including brothers: Lee Maxwell; President of Crowell Publishing Company, Ray G. Maxwell; advertising agent, and Lloyd Maxwell; of Williams & Cunnyngham agency in Chicago.
Before Life
Maxwell served in World War I as a transport pilot. In 1918 he married Dorothy Boyden, daughter of a Chicago jeweler and a graduate of the University of Chicago. He and Dorothy had three children, Clair Maxwell Jr., Joan Maxwell Alvarez (television producer), and Hope Tate.
Life magazine
He was the publisher of Life magazine (when it was a general interest magazine) from 1921 to 1936. He acquired the magazine on the verge of financial ruin, and brought it back to being profitable after years of modifying its format and editorial style.[1] After selling the business to Henry Luce in 1936 he worked for Luce for a short time before retiring to St. Augustine, Florida.