Guardian Media Group: chronology
Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
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- beginnings (1791)
- the Victorian era
- the Astors (1893)
- Guardian expansion (1961)
- ARCO and Lonrho (1977)
- GMG and TMG (1992)
Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline on this site.
Beginnings
1791 Observer founded by WS Bourne
1783 John Jacob Astor migrates to US
1808 establishes American Fur Company
1814 William Innell Clement buys the Observer
1821 establishment of Manchester Guardian by JE Taylor
1848 Astor dies worth US$20m, richest man in the country
subsection heading icon the Victorian era
1855 Manchester Guardian becomes a daily
1868 Manchester Evening News founded by Mitchell Henry
1868 Taylor family gains control of Manchester Evening News
1870 Julius Beer buys Observer
1872 CP Scott formally appointed Editor of Manchester Guardian
1880 Frederick Beer inherits Observer
1893 Frederick Beer's wife Rachel buys the Times
1893 William Waldorf Astor moves to UK
subsection heading icon the Astors
1893 buys Pall Mall Gazette
1893 starts Pall Mall Magazine
1897 Edward Hulton launches Manchester Evening Chronicle
1899 Astor becomes UK citizen
1905 Beer estate sells Observer to Northcliffe
1907 CP Scott buys Manchester Guardian from Taylor family for £242,000
1907 Manchester Guardian becomes ltd company
1908 James Louis Garvin becomes editor of Observer
1911 Astor buys Observer from Harmsworth family
1912 John Jacob Astor IV dies in the sinking of the Titanic
1914 Pall Mall Magazine sold to Hearst
1916 William Waldorf Astor becomes British peer
1919 Guardian Weekly launched
1920 weekly Manchester Guardian Commercial launched
1922 John Jacob Astor buys London Times from Northcliffe estate
1924 Scott family buys Manchester Evening News for £108,000
1929 CP Scott retires, dies 1932
1936 JR Scott passes ownership of Manchester Guardian and Manchester Evening News to the Scott Trust
1939 Manchester Guardian Commercial closes
1941 Garvin retires
1945 Astors transfer ownership of Observer to family trust
1948 David Astor becomes proprietor of The Observer
Guardian expansion
1959 The Manchester Guardian renamed The Guardian
1961 acquires daily Manchester Evening Chronicle from Berry family
1963 merger of Evening News and Evening Chronicle as Manchester Evening News & Chronicle
1964 Manchester Guardian moves to London
1966 Astors sell The Times to Thomson
1968 Guardian takes stake in Anglia Television
1972 takes 10% of Greater Manchester Independent Radio (Piccadilly Radio)
1974 buys Rochdale Observer group of local newspapers from Scott family
1977 buys Stockdale Advertiser newspaper chain
ARCO and Lonrho
1977 Astors sell ailing Observer to US oil giant Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) for US$1
1979 Lonrho gains control of George Outram (Glasgow Herald and Evening Times) and Scottish & Universal Newspapers
1979 Guardian buys Surrey Advertiser chain
1981 ARCO sells Observer to Lonrho
1981 Stockport Express chain and Stockport Advertiser chain merge as Lancashire & Cheshire County Newspapers (50% held by Guardian)
1982 Guardian acquires controlling stake in Northwest Automart
1985 gains remaining 50% of Lancashire & Cheshire County Newspapers
1985 Weekly Mail (later Mail & Guardian) launched in South Africa
1987 launches Manchester Metro News free daily
1987 gains control of North East, Bristol and Scottish Automart
1989 buys stake in Broadcast Communications (later GMG Endemol)
1990 forms Trafford Park Printers joint venture with Telegraph
1990 buys Accrington Observer
1990 gains control of Broadcast Communications
1990 Broadcast Communications buys Peter Bazalgette's Bazal production house
1990 buys Hawkshead
1991 Guardian takes stake in GMTV
1992 Lonrho sells George Outram to MBO and Scottish & Universal Newspapers to Trinity for £45m
1992 Broadcast Communications buys music and live event tv producer Initial
GMG and TMG
1992 Guardian holdings reorganised as Guardian Media Group plc (GMG)
1993 Observer bought by GMG
1994 GMG buys Thames Valley Newspapers from Thomson
1994 sells radio interests (centred on TransWorld Communications) to Emap
1995 becomes majority shareholder in M&G Media in South Africa, with Weekly Mail renamed as Mail & Guardian
1995 takes stake in Golden Rose Communications (jazz fm)
1998 Endemol becomes partner in Broadcast Communications with 50% stake
1999 GMG re-establishes radio broadcasting arm
2000 Workthing recruitment solutions founded
2000 TMG created through merger of GMG's Auto Trader division with Hurst Publishing
2000 GMG sells GMTV stake
2000 sells Broadcast Communications stake to Endemol, which rebadges the business as Endemol UK
2000 Spanish telecoms group Telefonica buys Endemol for £3.5bn
2001 GMG buys Scot FM from The Wireless Group plc for £25.5m
2001 wins Yorkshire Regional Radio licence
2002 buys Clear Channel's stake in jazzfm
2002 launches Real Radio Scotland
2002 sells 87.5% of M&G Media to Ncube's Newtrust Company Botswana Ltd
2003 increases stake in Trader Media Group from 48% to 100% in deal that values Trader at £1.14bn
2003 acquires remaining stake in Learnthings Ltd
2004 sells Workthing Ltd to recruitment specialist hotgroup plc for £6m
2005 increases stake in Reading 107 FM (launched 2002) from 37.8% to 60.3%