Edward L. Bernays

Born in Vienna in 1891 and raised in New York, Edward L. Bernays became one of the most influential early figures in public relations. He drew on ideas from psychology and social science to argue that public opinion could be studied and deliberately shaped, an approach that made him famous and also deeply debated.

Across a long career, he worked on publicity campaigns for businesses, nonprofits, and political causes, and he wrote books including Crystallizing Public Opinion and Propaganda. He is often described as a pioneer of public relations, though many readers remember him just as much for the ethical questions his work raises about persuasion, influence, and power.

Bernays lived an unusually long life, dying in 1995 at the age of 103. More than a century after his birth, he remains a key figure for anyone interested in media, marketing, politics, or the history of modern persuasion.