Person Open DS/UK/2361 Aitken; Lord; Max (25 May 1879-9 June 1964); 1st Baron Beaverbrook PC ONB; Canadian-British newspaper publisher and politician Aitken Max Lord 25 May 1879-9 June 1964 Canadian-British newspaper publisher and politician Male (cisgender) William Maxwell Aitken | Lord Beaverbrook DS/UK/445 Maple, Ontario, Canada (born)

Leatherhead, Surrey, England (died)

British Canadian Media | Newspaper Publisher, Press Baron Politician | UK Conservative | Cabinet Minister White No known disability No known religious affiliation Son of William Cuthbert Aitken (Scottish Presbyterian minister) and Jane Noble Former spouse of Gladys Henderson Drury (daughter of Major-General Charles William Drury CBE) Spouse of Marcia Anastasia Christoforides (philanthropist) Former partner of Jean Norton and Lily Ernst (Jewish ballerina) Father of Max Aitken Jr (fighter pilot, later Wing Commander during World War II), Janet Gladys Aitken (who married Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll) Heterosexual Lord Beaverbrook was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century. His base of power was the largest circulation newspaper in the world, the Daily Express, which appealed to the conservative working class with intensely patriotic news and editorials. During the Second World War, he played a major role in mobilising industrial resources as Winston Churchill's Minister of Aircraft Production. The young Max Aitken had a gift for making money and was a millionaire by 30. He moved to Britain, where he befriended Bonar Law and with his support won a seat in the House of Commons at the 1910 United Kingdom general election. A knighthood followed shortly after. During the First World War he ran the Canadian Records office in London, and played a role in the removal of H. H. Asquith as prime minister in 1916. The resulting coalition government (with David Lloyd George as prime minister and Bonar Law as Chancellor of the Exchequer) rewarded Aitken with a peerage and, briefly, a Cabinet post as Minister of Information. After the war, he built the Daily Express into the most successful mass-circulation newspaper in the world, with sales of 2.25 million copies a day across Britain. He used it to pursue personal campaigns, most notably for tariff reform and for the British Empire to become a free trade bloc. Activism and Views: Beaverbrook was of an imperialist mindset, with the quote, "There are countries so underdeveloped today that the gift of independence is like the gift of a razor to a child" attributed to him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Aitken,_1st_Baron_Beaverbrook (2020) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHhbryony 10/10/2012 RAHAKIRKBRIDE 6/3/2025 f32ea3af-bcc8-4c21-9981-f0a6410b4da3