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Henry Francis Regnery (1912–1996) was a conservative American publisher who founded the newspaper Human Events (1944) and the Henry Regnery Company (1947) and published Russell Kirk's classic work The Conservative Mind (1953).Jeffrey O. Nelson, 'Henry Regnery: Missionary of Culture', in The Intercollegiate Review, Fall 1996, pp. 14–22
In 1947, he founded the Henry Regnery Company, now Regnery Publishing. "It was a measure of the grip that liberal-minded editors had on American publishing at the time that Regnery, which was founded in 1947, was one of only two houses known to be sympathetic to conservative authors," according to Henry Regnery's 1996 obituary.
In 1951, Regnery published God and Man at Yale, the first book written by William F. Buckley, Jr. At that time, Regnery had a close affiliation with the University of Chicago and published classics for the Great Books series at the University, but he lost the contract as a result of publishing Buckley's book. In 1953, Regnery published Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind, as well as books by Albert Jay Nock, James J. Kilpatrick, and James Burnham. He also published paperback editions of literary works by novelist Wyndham Lewis and poets T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. In 1954, Regnery published McCarthy and His Enemies by William F. Buckley and L. Brent Bozell Jr. "Although Mr. Buckley ... had criticized the senator for 'gross exaggerations,' Mr. McCarthy said he would not dispute the merits of the book with the authors," according to a news article in The New York Times. While criticizing McCarthy, the book was sympathetic to him (and in fact was harsher on McCarthy's critics than it was on the senator for making false allegationsWhite, William S., "What the McCarthy Method Seeks to Establish", book review of McCarthy and His Enemies, The New York Times, April 4, 1954.), and McCarthy attended a reception for the authors.Conklin, William R., "M'Carthy Seeking To Push Inquiries: Would Turn to Other Cases if Army Dispute Is Delayed by Hunt for Counsel" apostrophe, news article, The New York Times, March 31, 1954.
In the early 1950s, Regnery published two books by Robert Welch, who went on to found the John Birch Society in 1958. In May God Forgive Us, Welch criticized influential foreign-policy analysts and policymakers and accused many of working to further Communism as part of a conspiracy.Smith, Robert Aura, "One Man's Opinions", book review in The New York Times, November 16, 1952. In 1954, Regnery published Welch's biography of John Birch, an American Baptist missionary in China who was killed by Chinese Communists after he became a U.S. intelligence officer in World War II.
Regnery sold Henry Regnery Company and started Regnery Publishing, which son Alfred inherited.
Regnery died age 84 on June 18, 1996, in Chicago of complications of brain surgery.
His nephew, William Regnery II, became the founder of the white nationalist organizations Charles Martel Society and National Policy Institute.
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