1930: Roy Thomson obtains a franchise to sell radios in North Bay, Ont. He gets involved in media as an afterthought, opening a local radio station to help boost sales. 1934: Thomson pays $2,600 to buy his first newspaper, the weekly Timmins Press, which he turns into a daily. 1952: Thomson buys the St. Petersburg Independent, his first newspaper outside of Canada. 1953: Roy Thomson acquires his first newspaper in the United Kingdom, The Scotsman. THE SUNDAY TIMES 1959: Thomson buys 15 British newspapers, including the Sunday Times. 1964: Roy Thomson given a hereditary peerage and becomes Lord Thomson of Fleet. 1965: Thomson Newspapers Ltd. goes public THE TIMES 1967: Thomson acquires The Times of London, one of the world's most respected newspapers. He takes on the financial risk himself, giving shareholders the opportunity to buy in later if the paper becomes profitable. 1976: Roy Thomson dies. Ken Thomson, at 52, takes over the family holdings. THE VANCOUVER SUN 1980: Thomson acquires a 100 per cent interest in FP Publications, which publishes The Globe and Mail, The Winnipeg Free Press and The Vancouver Sun. 1981: Thomson sells The Times of London to Australian newspaper mogul Robert Murdoch, after labour problems cause huge losses. 1996: Thomson begins an exodus from newspapers after moving into higher-growth areas such as legal publishing. Thomson sells all its U.K. holdings and about 50 papers in the United States and Canada. 1998: Thomson nets $2 billion (U.S.) from the sale of Thomson Travel. THE GLOBE AND MAIL 2000: -Thomson acquires Wave Technologies International, a provider of instructional products related to sophisticated information technologies. -Thomson announces intention to divest its newspaper assets, excluding The Globe and Mail. -Thomson announces formation of a new multimedia company combining BCE Inc.'s CTV television network, Sympatico and The Globe and Mail.
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