Herbert Newton Casson
Encyclopedia
Herbert Newton Casson was a Canadian
journalist
and author
who wrote primarily about technology
and business
.
Herbert Newton Casson was born in Odessa, Ontario on September 23, 1869. His father was the Reverend Wesley Casson, a Methodist missionary, and his mother was Elizabeth Jackson. The family moved around due to Casson's father postings. After spending years Manitoba, the family went back to Ontario in 1880, just before the outbreak of the Métis rebellion. With no formal schooling, Casson turned to the world around him for education. Casson went to Victoria College in 1890 hoping to study philosophy, but was instead given a theology scholarship. He graduated with a dual degree in 1892.
At twenty-three, Casson became an ordained Methodist minister, but was soon tried for heresy and, after being found guilty, resigned his position. He moved to Boston
in 1893 and started his career in the publishing field. While in Boston, Casson's attention was called to the immigrant slums. He was so shocked by the conditions he found there, he became a socialist, leading demonstrations and making friends with the likes of Keir Hardie
(British Socialist leader) and Samuel Gompers
(American Trade Union). Deserted by his followers for opposing the war, Casson moved to the Ruskin Colony
in Tennessee: a Socialist Commune. He left after six months.
"The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves." (Casson)
Casson married Lydia Kingsmill Commander just before moving to New York and starting work at New York Evening Journal. He then worked for the New York World, a paper run by Joseph Pulitzer. During his career as a journalist, Casson interviewed the likes of then President Grover Cleveland
, Guglielmo Marconi
, Nikolai Tesla, Thomas Edison
, and Alexander Graham Bell
. Casson's first book, The Romance of Steel: The Story of a Thousand Millionaires, was published in 1907. It detailed the rise of the American steel industry during the late 19th century. Casson then wrote "History of the Telephone" in 1910. From the preface: "Thirty-five short years, and presto! the newborn art of telephony is fullgrown. Three million telephones are now scattered abroad in foreign countries, and seven millions are massed here, in the land of its birth."
Casson retired in 1914 and moved his family to England. During World War I
, Casson gave lectures on the management of factories. He created the journal, Efficiency, which he both published and wrote. Casson continued to write and publish until 1950, when he went on a lecturing tour to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. He died at home in Norwood, Surrey on 4 September 1951 shortly after returning.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who wrote primarily about technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
.
Herbert Newton Casson was born in Odessa, Ontario on September 23, 1869. His father was the Reverend Wesley Casson, a Methodist missionary, and his mother was Elizabeth Jackson. The family moved around due to Casson's father postings. After spending years Manitoba, the family went back to Ontario in 1880, just before the outbreak of the Métis rebellion. With no formal schooling, Casson turned to the world around him for education. Casson went to Victoria College in 1890 hoping to study philosophy, but was instead given a theology scholarship. He graduated with a dual degree in 1892.
At twenty-three, Casson became an ordained Methodist minister, but was soon tried for heresy and, after being found guilty, resigned his position. He moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1893 and started his career in the publishing field. While in Boston, Casson's attention was called to the immigrant slums. He was so shocked by the conditions he found there, he became a socialist, leading demonstrations and making friends with the likes of Keir Hardie
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
(British Socialist leader) and Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
(American Trade Union). Deserted by his followers for opposing the war, Casson moved to the Ruskin Colony
Ruskin Colony
The Ruskin Colony was a utopian socialist colony which existed near Tennessee City in Dickson County, Tennessee from 1894 to 1896...
in Tennessee: a Socialist Commune. He left after six months.
"The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves." (Casson)
Casson married Lydia Kingsmill Commander just before moving to New York and starting work at New York Evening Journal. He then worked for the New York World, a paper run by Joseph Pulitzer. During his career as a journalist, Casson interviewed the likes of then President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
, Nikolai Tesla, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, and Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
. Casson's first book, The Romance of Steel: The Story of a Thousand Millionaires, was published in 1907. It detailed the rise of the American steel industry during the late 19th century. Casson then wrote "History of the Telephone" in 1910. From the preface: "Thirty-five short years, and presto! the newborn art of telephony is fullgrown. Three million telephones are now scattered abroad in foreign countries, and seven millions are massed here, in the land of its birth."
Casson retired in 1914 and moved his family to England. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Casson gave lectures on the management of factories. He created the journal, Efficiency, which he both published and wrote. Casson continued to write and publish until 1950, when he went on a lecturing tour to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. He died at home in Norwood, Surrey on 4 September 1951 shortly after returning.