Philip Lesly (1918-1997), author of Lesly's Handbook of Public Relations, the field's second foundational textbook, founder of Philip Lesly Company, and the practitioner who built the reference shelf of modern American PR practice.
David Finn (1921-2021) co-founded Ruder Finn with William Ruder in 1948 on a shared thousand dollars. He served as chairman for 73 years, wrote 30-plus books, and lived to 100. Family succession to CEO Kathy Bloomgarden. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Doris Fleischman (1891-1980) co-founded Edward L. Bernays, Counsel on Public Relations, and was his full business partner for 43 years. First married American woman to hold a US passport in her maiden name. EPR In Memoriam.
Betsy Plank (1924-2010), first woman to head a major PR agency division (Daniel J. Edelman), first female president of PRSA, and namesake of the Plank Center at the University of Alabama.
Al Golin (1929-2017), founder of Golin, architect of the sixty-year McDonald's account, originator of the Trust Bank framework, and the practitioner who built the longest-running brand-PR relationship in the field's history.
John W. Hill (1890-1977) founded Hill and Knowlton in Cleveland in 1927 and built the first multinational public relations firm. His two books formalized corporate PR as a management discipline. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Frank Mankiewicz (1924-2014), press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy through the 1968 campaign, president of National Public Radio, vice-chairman of Hill and Knowlton, and one of the few American practitioners to operate at senior levels in politics, broadcasting, and PR.
Jack O'Dwyer (1933–2018) founded Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter in 1968 and turned a yellow-page trade sheet into "the bible of PR." His 1970 financial-disclosure rankings forced the industry into transparency. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Carl Byoir (1888-1957), founder of Carl Byoir & Associates, the second-largest American PR firm of the mid-twentieth century. Counsel to Freeport Sulphur, the Cuban government, and A&P. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Rex F. Harlow (1892-1993), founder of the American Council on Public Relations, organizer of the first national professional body, and the practitioner who turned PR into a self-governing profession. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
