John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith (1889-1971). British administrator and businessman, first director-general of the BBC (1927-38). Reith was born in Scotland, and brought up as a strict Calvinist. His ideal of public service has had a lasting influence on BBC broadcasting. After leaving the BBC, Reith was chair-man of BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and minister of information and transport during World War II. The Reith lectures, broadcast annually, were founded in 1947 and named in his honour.
