Oscar Pulvermacher

Oscar Pulvermacher (1882–1958) was an Editor-in-Chief and member of the Board of Directors for The Daily Mail, a popular English tabloid.

Family

Oscar Pulvermacher was born to Isaac Pulvermacher and Augusta Fiedler. At the time, Pulvermacher's family was well known for the "Pulvermacher Galvanic Belt", a pseudo-medical device which was touted for pain relief and other symptoms of arthritic conditions and was purported to work through the use of electromagnetic energy. Charles Dickens was a notable client, writing to Pulvermacher in his penultimate letter to thank him for the device. The Fiedler family made their fortune through the manufacture of carpet bags.

Career

Oscar was therefore born into comparative wealth, but on the death of his father, everything changed. His mother Augusta remarried, and her late husband's fortune passed to her second husband. Oscar, then just shy of 14 years old, was forced to leave school and earn his keep. He worked first as a delivery boy, and then found a small job as a messenger boy for the Daily Mail. He ascended the ranks year after year, until he became Editor (1929–1930) and earned himself a place on the Board of Directors. Pulvermacher left the Mail eventually to work for The Daily Telegraph. He left London with his wife Marie Barnett Pulvermacher and emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa where he died in 1958.