Smith, George Murray (1824–1901)

British publisher. In 1838 he joined the firm of Smith Elder, of which his father was part-founder, and in 1845 became head of the publishing department. Energetic, bold, and astute, he soon secured the work of such authors as Charlotte Brontë, William Thackeray, and John Ruskin. He founded the Cornhill Magazine in 1860, and put Thackeray in the editorial chair. Five years later he brought out the Pall Mall Gazette. He made a fortune outside publishing, and used some of his capital to produce the Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1912). The firm of Smith Elder was absorbed by the house of John Murray in 1917. Smith was born in London, England.