Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a great demand for Who’s Who in America arises from the mushrooming war agencies in the first half of the 1940s. Only a fraction of government orders were met for Volume 22 (1942-1943), Volume 23 (1944-1945) and Volume 24 (1946-1947). One colonel calls publisher

The average age of listees in Who’s Who in America is in the mid-50s, but there are some very young listees as well. The youngest listees are child actresses Shirley Temple and Margaret O’Brien. Shirley Temple, who had already acted in more than 15 movies, makes her debut in the

By 1927, Who’s Who in America grows to include more than 26,000 listings. The standards of admission remain stringent but are broadened to include ambassadors to the United States, foreign actors of renown in America, and additional businessmen, among others. Still, generally speaking, one group is conspicuously absent: athletes. The

The sole owner of A.N. Marquis & Company for 40 years, Albert Nelson Marquis is now 71 years old. Thinking ahead, he becomes concerned over the fate of Who’s Who in the event of his death. He worries the brand might fall into unscrupulous hands that will diminish the high

In the 10th edition of Who’s Who in America, the length of former president Theodore Roosevelt’s biography sets a record for presidents (a record that still stands). He increases the length of his biography from 54 lines to 104 between 1911 and 1918, by principally adding his extensive list of

Harry Houdini, arguably the greatest and most famous magician of all time, states that he does not want his occupation in Who’s Who in America to be listed as “magician.” He repeatedly implores the Marquis editors to categorize him as an “actor, inventor, and author,” a request that is politely ignored.