Blackwell

This note considers the Blackwell publishing group, acquired by Wiley in 2006.

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It covers -

• Introduction
• Landmarks

Introduction

As of October 2006 Blackwell Publishing was the world's largest privately owned, independent, academic publishing company. It publishes journals and books for the research, higher education and professional markets (particularly on behalf of scholarly societies) in competition with Elsevier, TFInforma, Wolters Kluwer and Springer Science+Busines Media.

As of 2005 Blackwell published 805 medical, academic, scientific and professional journals.

It resulted from merger in 2001 of Blackwell Publishers (founded in 1926) and Blackwell Science (founded in 1939).

In November 2006 John Wiley & Sons agreed to acquire Blackwell Publishing for £572m. Wiley at that time had 3,600 employees; Blackwell Publishing had 1,000. Blackwell's retail operation was not included in the takeover.

Landmarks

1846 Benjamin Harris Blackwell opens bookshop in Oxford

1854 becomes first Oxford municipal librarian

1879 son Benjamin Henry Blackwell (d1924) opens secondhand bookshop in Oxford

1897 publishes first book

1917 Munksgaard Publishers (Copenhagen) is founded

1922 Basil Blackwell (1889-1984) forms Blackwell & Mott publishing house

1926 Blackwell Publishers formed

1939 Blackwell launches Blackwell Science Publications

1963 Blackwell Scientific Publishers, B H Blackwell and Blackwell & Mott acquire Munksgaard (Blackwell Scientific later becomes sole owner)

1966 Edinburgh office opened

1970 Munksgaard retailing operations sold to MBO

1970s Blackwells acquires Martin Robertson

1975 acquires Richard Abel Company assets in US

1984 Basil Blackwell opens first North American office

1980s Blackwell Polity joint venture founded

1998 decision to sell educational software, high school, trade, and general publishing operations

1987 Blackwell acquires Collins Professional and Technical

1993 Blackwell Scientific Publications becomes Blackwell Science

1997 Blackwell Science launches Blackwell Healthcare Communication Ltd pharmaceutical communication company.

1997 Blackwell Science acquires Bullet

1999 Bullet merged with Blackwell Healthcare to form Avenue

1999 launch of online journal content provider Blackwell Synergy

1999 Blackwell and Swets Zeitlinger agree to combine Swets Subscription Services and Blackwell's Information Services.

2000 Blackwell subscription agency sold to Swets Zeitlinger

2000 Blackwell Publishers merges with Blackwell Science

2001 sells Munksgaard medical textbook business

2002 Blackwell family rejects offers £300m bid by Taylor & Francis for Blackwell Publishing

2002 Blackwell Publishing purchases cardiology specialist Futura Publishing Company

2003 acquires Iowa State Press (founded 1924 as Collegiate Press) and changes name to Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

2004 buys Food & Nutrition Press

2004 acquires BMJ Books list of 328 titles

2004 buys nursing journals from Nursecom Inc.

2006 buys textbook publisher Brandywine Press

2006 takeover by Wiley for £572m