Robert E. Petersen
| Robert E. Petersen | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1926 East Los Angeles, California |
| Died | March 23, 2007 (aged 80) Santa Monica, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Barstow High School |
| Occupation | Publisher, philanthropist |
| Known for | Petersen Publishing Company: Hot Rod, Car Craft, Motor Trend, CARtoons, Guns & Ammo, SPORT, Motorcyclist, Teen, Tiger Beat, Sassy Magazine |
| Spouse(s) | Margie McNally |
Robert Einar "Pete" Petersen (September 10, 1926 – March 23, 2007) was an American publisher and founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1994.
Robert Einar "Pete" Petersen was born on September 10, 1926 in East Los Angeles, California. He learned about cars from helping his father, a truck mechanic. After graduating from Barstow High School, he served in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
After the war, Petersen left Barstow, California for Los Angeles and found work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), becoming a publicist there within a year.
After being laid off during staff cuts, Petersen and other ex-MGM staff started Hollywood Publicity Associates, a consulting firm. In the summer of 1947, the company was commissioned to publicize an exhibition of hot rods held the following winter. While working to promote the exhibition, Petersen realized that there were no media specific to hot rods or hot-rodding. Seeing an opportunity, Petersen and Robert Lindsay, another member of the promotion team for the exhibition, left Hollywood Publicity Associates that autumn and began development of Hot Rod magazine. The first issue of the magazine, with a run of 5,000 copies, was released to coincide with the Los Angeles Hot Rod Exhibition, the show Petersen and Lindsay were initially contracted to publicize. The founders sold the copies of the magazine at the steps of the exhibition. After a successful debut, the magazine continued to sell out and grow in readership. By mid-1949, monthly sales exceeded 50,000 copies.
Starting from this, Petersen built his publishing empire on automotive-themed publications, including Car Craft, Rod & Custom, Sports Car Graphic, and Motor Trend. He also published CARtoons, Guns & Ammo, SPORT, Motorcyclist, Motor Life, Hunting, Mountain Biker, Photographic, Teen, Tiger Beat, and Sassy Magazine.
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