According to the most common version, the idea of creating a book of records came to the head of Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of the Guinness brewery, while hunting. During the dispute, which bird is the fastest in Europe, it turned out that such information is extremely difficult to find. This gave Beaver the idea to create a book that would settle such controversies that often arise in beer pubs.
The emergence of an idea
For the first time, the history of the "Guinness Book of Records" appeared in its 31st edition. Specifically, the story said:
“On a November day in 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver (1890-1967) was hunting in Wexford in southeastern Ireland. He shot several golden plovers. In the evening, during the dispute, it became clear: there is no way to confirm or deny the information, whether the fastest bird is the golden plover or not. This made Sir Hugh think that in each of the more than eighty thousand beer pubs in Great Britain and Ireland, various disputes arise every day, but there is not a single book that would help solve them."
So which bird is the fastest? It is very strange that the answer to it appears only in the 36th edition, or 35 years after the first issue was published. The book argued that the fastest game in the UK is the red partridge, which can reach speeds of up to 100.8 km / h over short distances. Data on the speed of the golden plover, which is up to 112 km / h at the time of take-off, was called dubious. According to the editorial board, it can hardly exceed 80-88 km / h even in emergency situations.
The 39th edition of the book states: “On September 12, 1954, Norris and Ross McQuirter, working for one of the London news agencies and collecting interesting facts, were invited to the Guinness office to discuss the issue of publishing their collection of records. The information presented was so amazing that the brothers were immediately asked to start work."
Completing the story is the 42nd edition of the book, noting: “Record-breaking athlete Chris Chatway, at the time a Guinness Brewery employee, when he heard about Sir Hugh's ideas, recommended the ideal people to write the book. They are twin brothers - Norris and Ross McQuirter, whom he met at track and field competitions."
Initial period of book creation
For details on the early stages of the Guinness Book of Records, Norris McQuirter recounts in his 1955 article in Guinness Time:
“Chris Chatway gave me a hint that a book of this kind is planned. Soon, my twin brother and I were invited to dinner at Royal Park. It was decided to create a subsidiary council with the aim of organizing all information, compiling, printing and distributing the book, which was planned to be called the "Guinness Book of Records".
Al Kidd has been appointed to his position for receiving information. Ash Hughes became chairman of the board, which included us and Phillips. Later, Peter Page and Miss Anne Boulter joined our group as manager and secretary respectively. Tewkesbury skillfully took up organizational work."
The editorial team sent letters to famous astrophysicists, physiologists, zoologists, meteorologists, volcanologists, botanists, ornithologists, economists, numismatists, gerontologists and other scientists. After collecting the information base, the book was written "in thirty and a half 90-hour working weeks, which included Saturdays, Sundays and holidays."
The first copy of the Guinness Book of Records was printed on August 27, 1955. The book became a bestseller almost immediately. By the end of the first week, 10,000 copies were sold.
