born June 18, 1850, Portland, Maine, U.S.
died June 7, 1933, Wyncote, Pa.
U.S. publisher.
Curtis began publishing a local weekly in Portland. When fire destroyed his plant, he moved to Boston; there he published The People's Ledger magazine, which he continued after his move to Philadelphia in 1876. In 1879 he founded The Tribune and Farmer , from the women's section of which he formed the Ladies' Home Journal . In 1890 he organized the Curtis Publishing Co. Later acquisitions included The Saturday Evening Post (1897) and several newspapers. His daughter Mary Louise (18761970) founded the Curtis Institute of Music and named it for her father.