Corporate Timeline and Milestones
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Our Founders: DeWitt and Lila Wallace
1889
November 12: Reader's Digest founder William Roy DeWitt Wallace is born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the fifth of seven children.
1920
DeWitt borrows $600 from his family and creates a sample magazine containing condensations of articles. He submits it to publishers across the country, but there is no interest.
1921
After losing his job at the Webb Publishing Company in Minnesota, DeWitt establishes The Reader's Digest Association and solicits 1,500 subscriptions at $3 each, which enables him to make plans to publish his magazine on his own.
Copyrighted by Arnold Newman
October 15: DeWitt marries Lila Bell Acheson in Pleasantville, N.Y. Lila was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and the sister of Barclay Acheson, a Macalester College classmate of DeWitt's.
DeWitt and Lila open the first Reader's Digest office under a Greenwich Village speakeasy at No. 1 Minetta Lane in New York City.
1922
February: Volume 1, No. 1 of Reader's Digest is published with DeWitt and Lila Wallace on the masthead as editors. It is sold exclusively through the mail.
The Wallaces move to Pleasantville, New York, to public relations executive Pendleton Dudley's garage and pony shed.
1923
Reader's Digest offers a special rate of $2.75 for a one-year subscription or $2.50 each for two or more subscriptions.
1925
With subscriptions nearly quintupled, the Wallaces move to expanded quarters in Pleasantville. By buying land that had long been vacant next to Pendleton Dudley's property, they build a home and office of their own.
DeWitt Wallace hires his first full-time employee, Ralph E. Henderson, as business manager.
1929
Reader's Digest appears on newsstands for the first time.
1930
The first unsigned original article appears in Reader's Digest entitled, "Music and Work."
The introduction of original articles into Reader's Digest also would later bring the introduction of original Reader's Digest departments, which would mark the beginning of reader participation as contributors to the magazine.
1933
The first signed original article, "Insanity -The Modern Menace" by Henry Morton Robinson, appears in Reader's Digest.
1934
The first full-length book condensation, Arnold Bennett's "How To Live On Twenty-Four Hours a Day," is published in Reader's Digest.
Originally 64 pages, Reader's Digest expands from 112 to 128 pages with the December 1934 issue.
1935
Circulation of Reader's Digest surpasses the 1 million mark and reaches 1,457,500.
1936
As operations overflow available space in Pleasantville, the Wallaces purchase land in Chappaqua, New York, where they planned to build new headquarters.
1937
Construction begins on new Georgian-style headquarters. In December, additional land on adjoining property is purchased.
1938
The first international edition is published in the United Kingdom.
DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace establish The Reader's Digest Foundation to support various charitable causes.
1939
The company moves into a white-towered, three-story, red brick Georgian building in Chappaqua. (To this day the company’s mailing address technically remains Pleasantville, thanks to a request by the Wallaces, although in fact the property is situated on the north end of Chappaqua.)
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The 1940s and 1950s
1940
First foreign-language edition is published in Spanish for distribution in Latin America.
1941
The company buys the Guest House, built around 1850, and a tract of surrounding land next to the corporate headquarters. The Guest House would be used to host visiting editors and guests. Dignitaries and celebrities included U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, Reverend Billy Graham, New York Cardinal John O'Connor, U.S. Congressman Bill Bradley, New York Mayor Ed Koch, CBS news anchor Dan Rather, author Alex Haley, Wendy's restaurant founder Dave Thomas, host of television's "America's Most Wanted" series John Walsh, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and opera singer Beverly Sills.
1942
First issue of the Brazilian edition is published.
1945
First issue of the Finnish edition is published.
Post World War II
First issues of the Australian, French-Canadian, English-Canadian, Norwegian, French Belgian, German, Swiss-French, Swiss-German and South African editions are published.
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1950s
1950
Reader's Digest Condensed Books (later Select Editions) is established, with the first condensed book editions appearing in the United States and Canada.
The first issues of editions in New Zealand and Argentina are published.
1952
The first issue of the Spanish edition is published in Madrid.
1954
The first Indian edition is published in English.
Condensed Books are published in Australia and the United Kingdom.
1955
Reader's Digest Fund For The Blind (now called RD Partners for Sight) is established.
Already in international editions, paid advertising appears for the first time in the U.S. edition of Reader's Digest. Tobacco ads continued to be prohibited.
Condensed Books are published in France and Germany.
1957
First issue of the Dutch edition is published.
1958
First Condensed Books are published in the Netherlands.
1959
Reader's Digest begins producing recorded music collections in the United States, the company's first non-print product line.
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1960s
In the 1960s, the first Asian-English and Chinese editions are published.
1962
Reader's Digest begins conducting the first direct mail sweepstakes in the U.S., an innovation that would greatly expand the company’s growth.
1963
Reader's Digest Association publishes the first original general book, Reader's Digest Great World Atlas, in the United Kingdom.
First issue of the Asian edition is published in Hong Kong in English.
1965
First issue of the Chinese edition is published for distribution in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
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1970s
1971
First issue of the Portuguese edition is published.
1973
De Witt and Lila Wallace, both in their 80s, give up active management of the business.
1975
First Reader's Digest Condensed Books are published in Finland.
1978
First issue of the Korean edition is published.
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1980s
1981
March 30: DeWitt Wallace, aged 91, dies at High Winds, the Wallaces' 105-acre estate in Mount Kisco, New York.
1984
May 8: Lila Wallace, aged 94, dies. George V. Grune becomes chairman and CEO. In her will, Lila Wallace bequeathed her voting shares into a trust. The beneficiaries of the trust were the Wallaces’ charitable funds, which had received many shares from the Wallaces during their lifetimes and after Dewitt's death.
1985
Reader's Digest Association, a pioneer in the use of computers in direct mail marketing, opens a new $15 million data center at its global headquarters.
1986
Reader's Digest Association enters the video business with its first offer to customers.
1987
Reader's Digest Association purchases The Family Handyman, the leading U.S. do-it-yourself magazine.
1988
Household Hints & Handy Tips becomes a No. 1 best seller for general books, selling more than 1.2 million copies within 30 days.
1989
May 25: Reader's Digest Association announces a plan for an initial public offering of nonvoting stock.
First Condensed Book is published in Portugal.
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The Company Goes Public (1990s)
1990
February 15: Reader's Digest Association becomes a public company. The company's non-voting shares of its stock ("RDA") are traded on The New York Stock Exchange for the first time. A second class of stock, “RDB”, retains voting rights and is mainly held by the Wallace Funds, a charitable foundation that had been established by the Wallaces.
September: Reader's Digest Association publishes its first annual report to shareholders.
1991
The Russian edition is launched.
The Hungarian edition is launched.
1992
Condensed Books publishes its 200th volume in the U.S.
Reader's Digest Association wins its first Emmy Award for an original video, "Great National Parks II."
1993
The Czech edition is launched in Prague. (The company would go on to launch new businesses across most of Central Europe.)
The first Mexican Condensed Book is launched in Spanish.
1994
U.S. Reader’s Digest publishes its 10 billionth copy.
August 1: James P. Schadt is named president and CEO , succeeding George V. Grune, who retires and remains as Chairman of the Board.
1995
The Polish edition is launched in Warsaw.
August 1: James P. Schadt is named Chairman of the Board, succeeding George V. Grune.
1996
The Thai edition is launched in Bangkok.
Reader's Digest World, today called readersdigest.com, a multi-tiered global Web site, is launched.
1997
James P. Schadt resigns. George V. Grune returns to help the Board of Directors search for a new CEO.
The Slovak edition is launched.
1998
April: Thomas O. Ryder joins RDA from the American Express Company as Chairman and CEO. He announces the first of a series of broad initiatives to restore the company's profitability and build for the future.
May: Reader's Digest redesigns its flagship magazine, including moving the table of contents from the cover to the inside of the publication.
1999
Czech, Polish and Slovak editions of Condensed Books are launched.
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The New Chapter: The 21st Century
2000
The first volume of Select Editions is published in Russia.
2001
Reader's Digest undergoes another series of editorial and design changes.
How to Do Just About Anything on a Computer is developed in one third of the normal time from concept to market, and reaches multimillion unit sales.
2002
Following 2001 business disruptions including 9/11, anthrax and a U.S. sweepstakes agreement, the company takes steps designed to strengthen its financial prospects. This includes sale or closing of unprofitable businesses, restructuring and other moves.
May: RDA completes its $760-million acquisition of Reiman Publications LLC, the leading publisher of cooking, gardening, country lifestyle and nostalgia magazines and books in the United States and Canada. Reiman published 12 bimonthly magazines with circulation of 16 million subscribers. Seven of the magazines were among the top 100 in the United States in circulation. (The largest, Taste of Home, today is the nation’s top-selling food magazine.)
December 13: RDA’s class B voting common stock shareholders vote and approve a recapitalization of the company. As a result of the agreement between the company and the Wallace Funds, the company’s class B stock and class A nonvoting common stock become a single class with voting rights - one share, one vote.
2004
December: RDA completes sale and 20-year leaseback of its Pleasantville headquarters.
2005
September: RDA launches book businesses in Bosnia and Serbia, RDA’s fifth and sixth new-country launches in the past three years.
RDA launches Romanian, Slovenian, and Croatian editions of Reader’s Digest magazine.
RDA launches Every Day with Rachael Ray, a major food magazine featuring the popular author and star of four programs on TV’s Food Network. The magazine went on to win multiple launch-of-the-year awards (and today has a circulation of 1.7 million).
2006
January: Eric W. Schrier, formerly RD North America President and Global Editor-in-Chief, becomes President and succeeds Thomas Ryder as Chief Executive Officer.
March: RDA acquires Allrecipes.com, in Seattle, the world’s largest food website.
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New Ownership and Transformation
2007
March 3, 2007: An investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. completes transaction resulting in the acquisition of Reader's Digest Association, returning the company to private ownership. As a result of the transaction, WRC Media, which published Weekly Reader, and Direct Holdings, the business that markets Time Life under license, became part of the company
Mary G. Berner, former President and CEO of Fairchild Publications, is named President and CEO of Reader's Digest Association
Berner launches a three-part global program to transform RDA through revenue and EBITDA growth, culture change to create a performance-driven organization, and cost savings to produce financial flexibility.
The company experiences the largest influx of new talent in its history as skilled employees in key disciplines are recruited into the business. From the recruits as well as company veterans new leaders are assigned to key roles.
The company begins a global growth program including business launches in new countries, new ventures with partners and other moves to grow revenue and EBITDA. The first new venture is the launch of a Reader’s Digest edition in Serbia, the magazine’s historic 50th edition.
Berner reorganizes the U.S. business along the lines of consumer affinity interests to better serve customers and advertisers, and reorganizes the International business along geographic lines.
2008
January: The company launches Puzhi magazine in the People’s Republic of China, with partner Shanghai Press and Publication Division, realizing a long-held publishing goal.
February: RD Canada launches Best Health, an innovative new magazine for women 35-55; RD Asia Pacific launches Discovery Channel Magazine in Asia and Australia / New Zealand.
June: The company meets its internal adjusted EBITDA target established for its first fiscal year under private ownership, ended June 30, 2008.
September: Allrecipes.com launches in The United Kingdom and Ireland, and Australia and New Zealand. In the months ahead it would add sites in France, Germany and the People’s Republic of China, with plans to launch in 10 additional countries.
September: Reader’s Digest magazine is redesigned globally. It is well received as 21 of 31 international markets see increases in first-time renewals.
2009
April: U.S. Reader’s Digest is nominated for an ASME National Magazine Award in General Excellence, the “Oscars” of the publishing industry. On April 30, Reader’s Digest is selected over all other leading publications and is named winner of its first General Excellence prize in the magazine’s history. The prize is accepted by Peggy Northrop, Global Editor-in-Chief.
August: Facing a global recession and a highly leveraged balance sheet from the 2007 acquisition, RDA files for pre-arranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, centered around a plan to reduce the company’s debt by 75% and strengthen the its financial position. The case proceeds rapidly while the company continues to perform business as usual.
Year-long: RDA continues to launch new sites for Allrecipes.com in additional countries, entering 2010 with 12 international sites serving 17 countries.
2010
January 15: U.S. court confirms RDA's plan of reorganization, clearing the way for emergence from Chapter 11 at a date to be chosen by the company.
February 1: RDA delays emergence from Chapter 11 to focus on finding a solution to a longstanding pension liability in RDA United Kingdom. The UK company files for aministration on February 17, continuing to operate while seeking a solution that maximizes return to its creditors.
February 19: RDA technically emerges from Chapter 11, recapitalized with $525 million in new long-term financing; with a new balance sheet, new ownership, a new Board of Directors, and achieving its goal to significantly de-lever the company and reduce its debt by 75%.
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