Edward Lewis

English businessman, founder of Decca Records (1900–1980)

Sir Edward Roberts Lewis (19 April 1900 – 29 January 1980) was an English businessman, best known for leading the Decca recording and technology group for five decades from 1929. He built the company up from nothing to one of the major record labels of the world.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Edward Lewis (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Apr 19, 1900, died Jan 29, 1980.¹

About

A financier by profession, Lewis was professionally engaged by the fledgling Decca company. Having failed to persuade its directors to diversify from making record-players to making records, he raised the capital to take the company over, and ran it until his death. Among the ground-breaking achievements of Decca under Lewis were the Decca Navigator System (the leading maritime and aviation navigation system prior to GPS), the Decca "ffrr" recording technology, and the first release on record of Wagner's Ring cycle.

From Wikipedia’s article on Edward Lewis, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Early life and education

Date not recordedTrinity College³

Early years

Lewis was born in Derby, the only son of four children of Sir Alfred Edward Lewis (1868–1940) and his wife, May née Roberts. Alfred Lewis was a senior official, and later head, of the National Provincial Bank. Lewis was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

After leaving Cambridge, Lewis worked in the financial sector, joining the London Stock Exchange. In 1923, he married Margaret Mary ('Masie') Hutton. There were two sons of the marriage, one of whom died, while still a boy, in a drowning accident. The other son later became the senior partner in Lewis's stockbroking firm. The firm, E. R. Lewis & Co, was founded when Lewis was 28, and was still trading after his death. Lewis also had a much younger daughter, Pat.

Lewis's firm acted as brokers for a company that had recently changed its name to The Decca Gramophone Company. It manufactured recording and play-back equipment and had developed the world's first portable gramophone. With Lewis's help, Decca was successfully floated as a public company. The share issue was oversubscribed twenty times over.

From Wikipedia’s article on Edward Lewis (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: businessperson.⁹

Date not recordedFounded Decca⁴
Date not recordedFounded Decca Records, Inc.⁵
Date not recordedFounded London Records, Inc.⁶
Date not recordedFounded London Records⁷
Date not recordedFounded Decca Classics⁸

Personal life

BornApr 19, 1900, Derby¹⁰
DiedJan 29, 1980, Chelsea¹¹
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland¹²

Awards

1967Albert Medal^{13 14}

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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WikidataEdward Lewis on Wikidata
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WikipediaEdward Lewis on Wikipedia
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WikidataEdward Lewis: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: Founded Decca, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: Founded Decca Records, Inc., on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: Founded London Records, Inc., on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: Founded London Records, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: Founded Decca Classics, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: occupation, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: place of birth, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: place of death, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataEdward Lewis: award, on Wikidata
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Wikidataaward, as reported