News Organizations and Titles: Honorary chairman, McGraw-Hill Publishing, 1935-48; chairman, 1928-35; president, 1917-28; vice president, 1886-88; Journal of Railway Appliances, 1884-86.
Legacy: Mr. McGraw considered himself a teacher, yet he founded McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., which has grown into one of the preeminent business information publishing empires of the century, now home to Business Week, Standard & Poor's and DRI economic research.
Personal: Born Dec. 17, 1860, in Panama, N.Y.; died Feb. 21, 1948. Memberships included American Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Electric Light Association, Illuminating Engineering Society, New York Chamber of Commerce and the English-Speaking Union.
Family: Married Mildred F. Whittlesey on June 8, 1887. They had four sons: James H. Jr., Harold W., Curtis W. and Donald C., and a daughter, Mrs. John E. Osmum.
Awards: Bok Gold Medal, 1927, presented as the Harvard Advertising Award.
Education:State Normal School at Fredonia, N.Y., 1884.
What he has said about himself: A good editor "Wears out his shoes rather than the seat of his trousers." His motto was "reader first."
Home run stories or accomplishments: Foreseeing the role of electricity in industry, Mr. McGraw sold his original publication, American Journal of Railway Appliances, in 1891 and bought Electrical Industries in 1896. Early in the century, he added three publications, and with the merger in 1917 with Hill Publishing, the company's publications stood at nine. In 1925 he established the James H. McGraw Award for the electrical industry, given in recognition of the most important personal contributions to electrical progress in manufacturing, wholesaling and contracting, and for cooperation in promoting the general welfare of industry. What he made news or headlines for: He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1904.