Guinness - a record breaking idea!

(Published on 15 May 2007 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)


You all know my Aunt Jigna – thanks to this column, where she features ever so regularly. Well this aunt of mine has a penchant for facts and figures… (and arguments may I add) and has a ‘record breaking’ collection of the Guinness Book of World Records.

I did ruffle up the old lady when I told her that it was easier and quicker to refer to the internet rather than flip pages and search for results. But the truth is that I do envy her collection of the Guinness Book of World Records. I could spend hours and hours browsing and marvelling.

The story about how the idea of putting together such a book of records is an interesting one. The idea was conceptualised by Sir Hugh Beaver. Educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, Sir Hugh Beaver spent two years in the Indian Police force from 1910 to 1912. Later he returned to England, and joined Alexander Gibb and Partners Engineers, the firm commissioned by the Canadian government to conduct a survey of its national ports. Beaver supervised the rebuilding of the Port of St John, New Brunswick. He was the Director General and Controller General of the Ministry of Works from 1940-1945

In 1946, he became the managing director of Arthur Guinness, Son and Co Ltd. On 10 November 1951, while Beaver was still the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, he went on a shooting party by the River Slaney in Ireland. While on the shoot, he became involved in an argument with a friend about whether it was the Golden Plover or the Grouse that was the fastest game bird in Europe.

The argument came to no conclusion for it was not possible to confirm the answer in any reference books. Beaver realised that there must be numerous similar questions debated, but there was no book with which to settle arguments about records. He recognized then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular.

Sir Hugh’s idea saw the light of day when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended his University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter. The two brothers had been running a fact-finding agency in London, and were commissioned in 1954 to compile all the information into one book which came to be called The Guinness Book of Records. The first 198 page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists. The following year it launched in the USA, and sold 70,000 copies.

Since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name in world records. No other venture collects, confirms, accredits and presents world record data with the same commitment. The Records Management Team maintains a vigilant watch to guarantee the accuracy of each and every Guinness World Record. A fact becomes a Guinness World Record when it’s tested and verified. The book has gone on to become a record breaker itself. With sales of more than 100 million copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages, the Guinness World Records is the world’s best ever selling copyright book.

Sir Hugh Beaver KBE was knighted in 1943. He was awarded a KBE in 1956. He also received honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, Dublin, the National University of Ireland. The London School of Economics made Sir Hugh Beaver an honorary fellow in 1960.

What a record breaking idea!
“Good ideas are common - what's uncommon are people who'll work hard enough to bring them about” - Ashleigh Brilliant, English author and cartoonist.

Miss Know-All
miss.know.all@gmail.com