Ivy Ledbetter Lee

Ivy Ledbetter Lee (born July 16, 1877, Cedartown, Ga., U.S.—died Nov. 9, 1934, New York, N.Y.) was an American pioneer of 20th-century public-relations methods, who persuaded various business clients to woo public opinion.

A graduate of Princeton University, Lee worked as a newspaper reporter in New York City from 1899 to 1903, when he joined the staff of the Citizens’ Union. In 1906 he became press representative for a group of coal miners, and in 1912 he began representing the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Because of his success in improving the public image of his clients, his services were sought by major companies. By 1917 he had acquired a string of powerful clients, including the Rockefeller interests. Lee’s greatest innovation was his frank, open policy toward the press; he not only answered reporters’ queries but also notified the press of newsworthy developments within the companies he represented.

Lee’s clients included the American Red Cross during World War I, the German dye trust in the early Nazi era, and the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce in the era when the Soviet Union was striving for U.S. recognition.