Anniversaries
January
Reuters scoop on the assassination of Gandhi
“Phone if it’s hot” was the command to a young reporter in New Delhi. Hot it was: the Mahatma, Mohandas Gandhi, father of Indian independence, had been shot at his nightly prayer meeting on 30 January 1948. Reuters was first with the news.
End of the Reuter Barony
Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, widow of Paul Julius Reuter’s grandson and last family link with the founder of Reuters, died aged 96 on 25 January 2009. The Reuter Barony, a German title conferred in 1871, died with her.
February
Reuters first listed as a public limited company
Reuter’s Telegram Company was registered as a public limited company on 20 February 1865.
Death of Baron de Reuter
Baron de Reuter, founder of Reuters, died at the Villa Reuter, his home on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, on 25 February 1899 at the age of 82. The title passed to his son, Herbert, who had taken over as head of the business on the retirement of his father in 1878.
Reuters scoop on the discovery of Tutankhamen's sarcophagus
Despite the archaeologists’ agreement with The Times for exclusive rights to the story, special correspondent Valentine Williams crafted a cunning plan to be first with news of the discovery in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on 16 February 1923.
Reuters' biggest ever project, Dealing, goes live
The Reuter Money Dealing service, biggest project ever undertaken by Reuters, went live on 23 February 1981 to an uncertain start with 145 subscribers in nine countries. The breakthrough came after Dealing had reached Bahrain in May 1982 and it was known as the Reuter Monitor Dealing Service.
March
Centenary Fund established to help special cases of hardship
A Staff Benevolent and Welfare Fund (later renamed Reuters Centenary Fund) was established on 7 March 1951 with a transfer from the Pension Fund Reserve and a supplementary grant authorised by the board to mark the company’s centenary celebrations. Its purpose is to deal with special cases of hardship affecting staff members and pensioners and their dependents.
Khrushchev speech scoop produces big display of the Reuter credit line
Reuters has a world scoop from Moscow with Nikita Krushchev’s denunciation of Stalin in a secret speech at the Soviet Communist Party congress held the previous February. The 16 March 1956 scoop, achieved despite Soviet censorship, produced the biggest international display of the Reuter credit line for many years.
Reuters becomes a truly international news agency
Reuters started its own independent reporting of financial news from the United States on 2 March 1967. Until then it had been heavily dependent on Dow Jones. Its exchange agreement with Dow Jones meant it could not distribute financial news in North America. Reuters therefore precipitated the break with Dow Jones which occurred on 31 March. The break with AP came in September. For the first time in its history Reuters was a truly international news agency.
Reuters stops using Morse to transmit news
Reuters’ last Morsecast transmission ended on 31 March 1973 when the Jakarta office switched to radioteletype the following day. In the early post-WWII years Morsecast from Tokyo, Taipei and Jakarta was the main method of news transmission in Asia. Reuters first used Morsecast to transmit news and market prices by long-wave radio to Europe in November 1923.
April
Paul Julius Reuter starts news and price service with pigeons
Paul Julius Reuter started his first news and stock price information service between Brussels and Aachen, Germany on 28 April 1850. He used 45 trained carrier pigeons provided by an Aachen brewer, baker and pigeon breeder.
Reuters scoop in Europe on the assassination of Lincoln
Reuter’s report of the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln on 14 April 1865 reached London on 26 April. After 12 days crossing the Atlantic a Reuter agency intercepted the mail boat off Ireland and telegraphed the news to London, giving Reuters its first big scoop. European financial markets were thrown into turmoil.
Death of the Baron's son ends direct family connection
Three days after the sudden death of his wife, Baron Herbert de Reuter, shot himself, ending the Reuter family’s direct connection with the company on 18 April 1915. His only son, Hubert de Reuter, a schoolmaster serving as a private with the Black Watch regiment of the British Army, would be killed by machine-gun fire whilst carrying in wounded men on the Somme on 13 November 1916.
Thomson completes takeover of Reuters
Thomson Corporation of Canada completed its takeover of Reuters Group to form Thomson Reuters on 17 April 2008. Shares in the new group were listed in London, New York and Toronto. Headquarters of the merged group moved to 3 Times Square, New York.
May
Baron de Reuter retires due to ill health
Baron de Reuter, founder of Reuters, retired as managing director “in consequence of failing health” at the age of 61 in May 1878. He was succeeded by his son, Herbert, 26, born in London in 1852.
Reuters scoops the world on the relief of Mafeking
A laconic message from Pretoria on 18 May 1900 drives London wild. Mafeking, remote British colonial outpost in South Africa besieged by Boers for seven months, had been relieved, and a new verb entered the English language: ‘to maffick’ defined as ‘to celebrate extravagantly’.
Reuters scoop on the conquest of Mount Everest
On 29 May 1953, Reuters had the only correspondent on the mountain independent of the expedition to be the first to reach the top of Everest. Exclusive interviews with the victorious climbers and expedition leader attracted world-wide newspaper and radio play.
June
Reuters floats as a listed company in London and New York
Reuters became a publicly-quoted company on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in New York as Reuters Holdings PLC on 4 June 1984.
Launch of the Reuter Monitor
The Reuter Monitor, a screen-based foreign exchange retrieval system that would be the springboard for Reuters’ financial success, was launched on 4 June 1973.
Launch of The Baron
The Baron website for Reuters people past and present was launched in 16 June 2008.
July
Birth of Reuters' founder
Reuters’ founder was born as Israel Beer Josaphat in Kassel, Germany, third son of the town’s acting chief rabbi, on 21 July 1816. In 1845 he travelled to London under the name Julius Josaphat and two weeks later was baptised as a Christian with the name Paul Julius Reuter.
On the eve of the Second World War, Reuters moves to Fleet Street
Reuters moved to a new Portland Stone building designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens at 85 Fleet Street, London, in July 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Stockmaster, Reuters' first electronic market data product, is launched
Stockmaster, Reuters’ first computerised price-quotation product, was launched on 1 July 1964. Developed by Ultronic Systems Corporation of New Jersey, it transmitted US stock and commodities market data to subscribers in Europe at unprecedented speeds and made substantial profits.
August
First with the news again - closure of the Berlin border
During a sleepless night on 13 August 1961, Reuters’ man in East Berlin scoops the world by following up an anonymous tip and a policeman’s curt “The Berlin border is closed” at the Brandenburg Gate.
September
Reuters founder becomes Baron de Reuter
Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha conferred a German barony on Paul Julius Reuter on 7 September 1871. Henceforth he was known as Baron de Reuter. His coat of arms featured the globe on a blue shield broken by rays of lightning from its four corners. The motto was per mare per terras (by land and sea). Queen Victoria recognised the title 20 years later in 1891.
Thomson Reuters shares cease to be traded in London and on NASDAQ
Trading in Thomson Reuters shares ceased on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in New York on 10 September 2009. The shares remain listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.
October
Paul Julius Reuter first lands in England from Germany
Paul Julius Reuter first landed in England under the name Julius Josaphat on 29 October 1845.
Paul Julius Reuter opens his first office in London
Paul Julius Reuter opened an office in two rooms at 1 Royal Exchange Buildings close to the main telegraph offices in London’s financial centre on 14 October 1851.
Reuters' ownership restructured and Trust Principles adopted
Reuters was restructured so that it was owned by the Press Association and the Newspaper Proprietors Association representing the British national and provincial press respectively in October 1941. The Reuters Trust was created and principles were adopted to safeguard Reuters’ independence, integrity and freedom from bias.
November
Reuters' Jewish-born founder converts to Christianity
Israel Beer Josaphat, aka Julius Josaphat, was baptised as a Christian at a German Lutheran chapel in London in the name of Paul Julius Reuter on 16 November 1845.
Paul Julius Reuter begins transmitting news by submarine telegraph
A cross-channel submarine telegraph began operating between Dover and Calais on 13 November 1851. Reuter transmitted stock market quotations and news between London and Paris over the new cable.
December
Reuters is reconstructed as a private company
Reuter’s Telegram Company was reconstructed as Reuters Ltd, a private company, on 11 December 1916.