Part 2/11:
Born in 1860 into a family deeply involved in publishing, Ormond Smith was practically destined for greatness. His father, Francis Smith, co-founded the renowned Street & Smith Publishing Company in New York in 1855 alongside Francis Street. Growing up under the guidance of a pioneering figure in literature and media, Ormond was nurtured in an environment ripe with creative energy and business acumen.
Graduating from Harvard in 1883, Smith immediately entered his father’s flourishing enterprise, which was at a pivotal point of expansion. The death of co-founder Francis Street in the same year and his father’s passing in 1887 left Ormond at just 27 years old with the responsibility of steering the company into a new era.