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Jeremy Ronald Potter Edit Profile

executive historian publisher writer

Jeremy Ronald Potter was a British writer, historian, publisher and executive. Potter devoted most of his career to communications, working in both print and broadcast formats.

Background

Jeremy Ronald Potter was born on April 25, 1922, in London, United Kingdom.

Career

Early in his career, Potter joined the staff of the New Statesman - British political and cultural magazine published in London - for eighteen years beginning in 1951. He began as a manager and ultimately became deputy chairman. In 1970 he became managing director of Independent Television Publications Ltd. and also took on the duties of chairman of Independent Television Books a year later. While at the firm, he saw the weekly circulation of the TV Times increase to nearly four million. He began working as director of Hutchison Ltd. in 1978 and rose to the rank of chairman by 1982. From 1978 to 1979 he presided over the Periodical Publishers Association. In addition, Potter worked as a director with London Weekend Television from 1979 to 1992 and for Page & Moy PLC from 1979 to 1989. In 1980 he became director of Constable and Co.

As a historian, Potter was interested in the life of English King Richard III and defended the King’s reputation. In 1983 he wrote Good King Richard? An Account of Richard III and His Reputation, 1483-1983. He also appeared in the television show The Trial of Richard Hi as a witness for the defense.

His other books include Pretenders to the English Throne, The History of Independent Television in Britain, and Tennis and Oxford. He wrote novels as well, including Hazard Chase, A Trail of Blood, Going West, Death in the Forest, and The Mystery of the Campden Wonder.

Achievements

  • During Potter's chairmanship of the Richard III Society, it launched several important initiatives, including the commissioning of a heroic statue of Richard III and sponsoring the publication of fifteenth-century source documents and works of current scholarship on the period.

Membership

Potter served for nineteen years as a chairman of the Richard III Society beginning in 1971. Potter was elected President of the Society on October 4, 1997.

Personality

Potter was also a sports enthusiast who served as the captain of the Hampstead Hockey Club in the 1950s and won tennis competitions in the 1980s.