Clive Pearson
(1887-1965)
Bernard Clive Pearson (12 August 1887 – 22 July 1965), commonly known as Clive Pearson, was a British aviation executive and industrialist. As chairman of Whitehall Securities, the Pearson family investment company, he helped consolidate several private British airlines into British Airways Ltd in 1935. British Airways Ltd became the principal privately backed British airline operating European and domestic services before the Second World War, alongside the state-supported Imperial Airways, which concentrated on Empire routes.
Pearson succeeded Sir John Reith as chairman of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in January 1940, having previously served as deputy chairman. BOAC began operations on 1 April 1940 after the merger of British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways, and operated wartime services under the control of the Air Ministry. Pearson and most of BOAC's civilian directors resigned in 1943 after disputes over the corporation's independence and its wartime subordination to military transport needs.
Pearson was also chairman of S. Pearson & Son from 1927 to 1954 and led the Pearson group's role in the 1931 rescue of Lazard Brothers & Co.
Early life and education
Pearson was born in Kensington, London, on 12 August 1887, the second son of the industrialist Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray and Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray. He was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in engineering in 1908.
Military service
During the First World War, Pearson served in the Sussex Yeomanry and reached the rank of major.
“Clive Pearson” enters the record as (1887-1965). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Clive, Pearson and 1887-1965 can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Clive Pearson” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Clive, Pearson and 1887-1965 provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q75448898. VIAF identifies the subject as 60825171. The Library of Congress control number is n97022564. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1887, 1965, 1935 and 1940.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clive Pearson”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clive Pearson primary sources, Clive Pearson archive and Clive research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clive Pearson”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clive Pearson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.