70-658: Ian Robert Maxwell MC (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch ; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak -born British media proprietor , politician and fraudster . After escaping the Nazi occupation of his native country, Maxwell joined the Czechoslovak Army in exile during World War II and was decorated after active service in the British Army . In subsequent years he worked in publishing, building up Pergamon Press to
140-534: A sex trafficking ring with Jeffrey Epstein (who had already died in jail the previous year). She was convicted on 29 December 2021, and sentenced to 20 years in prison on 28 June 2022. Military Cross The Military Cross ( MC ) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces , and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC
210-512: A French Protestant , and the couple had nine children over the next sixteen years: Michael, Philip, Ann, Christine , Isabel , Karine, Ian , Kevin and Ghislaine . In a 1995 interview, Elisabeth talked of how they were recreating Maxwell's childhood family who were killed in the Holocaust . Five of his children—Christine, Isabel, Ian, Kevin and Ghislaine—were later employed within his companies. Karine died of leukaemia at age three, while Michael
280-605: A Pergamon subsidiary. The deal was aborted in August 1985. In 1987, Maxwell purchased part of IPC Media to create Fleetway Publications . The same year, he launched the London Daily News in February after a delay caused by production problems, but the paper closed in July after sustaining significant losses contemporary estimates put at £25 million. Originally intending it to be a rival of
350-676: A commission in 1945 and was promoted to the rank of captain . In January 1945, Maxwell's heroism in "storming a German machine-gun nest" won him the Military Cross (MC), presented by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery . Attached to the Foreign Office , he served in Berlin during the next two years in the press section. Maxwell naturalised as a British subject on 19 June 1946 and changed his name by deed of change of name on 30 June 1948. In 1945, Maxwell married Elisabeth "Betty" Meynard ,
420-726: A former employee of Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate , approached a number of news organisations in Britain and the US with the allegation that Maxwell and the Daily Mirror ' s foreign editor, Nicholas Davies , were both long-time agents for Mossad. Ben-Menashe also claimed that, in 1986, Maxwell informed the Israeli Embassy in London that Mordechai Vanunu revealed information about Israel's nuclear capability to The Sunday Times , then to
490-564: A gold-tipped baton which they may carry on formal occasions. The vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the British Indian Army . At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at
560-642: A major academic publisher. After six years as a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) during the 1960s, Maxwell again put all his energy into business, successively buying the British Printing Corporation , Mirror Group Newspapers and Macmillan Publishers , among other publishing companies. Robert Maxwell led a flamboyant lifestyle, living in Headington Hill Hall in Oxford , from which he often flew in his helicopter, or sailing in his luxury yacht,
630-516: A media war between Maxwell and Murdoch, the proprietor of the News of the World and The Sun . Mirror Group Newspapers (formerly Trinity Mirror, now part of Reach plc ), published the Daily Mirror , a pro-Labour tabloid; Sunday Mirror ; Sunday People ; Scottish Sunday Mail and Scottish Daily Record . At a press conference to publicise his acquisition, Maxwell said his editors would be "free to produce
700-498: A minor publisher; the remaining quarter was held by the experienced scientific editor Paul Rosbaud . They changed the name of the company to Pergamon Press and rapidly built it into a major academic publishing house. In the 1964 general election , representing the Labour Party , Maxwell was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham and re-elected in 1966 . He gave an interview to The Times in 1968 in which he said
770-485: A one-off spoof magazine called Not Private Eye . A hint of Maxwell's service to Israel was provided by John Loftus and Mark Aarons , who described Maxwell's contacts with Czechoslovak communist leaders in 1948 as crucial to the Czechoslovak decision to arm Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Czechoslovak military assistance was both unique and crucial for Israel in the conflict. According to Loftus and Aarons, it
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#1732876648010840-593: A poor Yiddish -speaking Orthodox Jewish family and had six siblings. Most of Maxwell's relatives were murdered in Auschwitz after Hungary was occupied in 1944 by Nazi Germany , but years earlier he had escaped to France . In May 1940, Maxwell joined the Czechoslovak Army in exile in Marseille . After the fall of France and the British retreat to Britain , Maxwell (using the name "Ivan du Maurier", or "Leslie du Maurier",
910-813: A secret agent of a foreign government, possibly a double agent or a triple agent , and "a thoroughly bad character and almost certainly financed by Russia". He had known links to the British Secret Intelligence Service ( MI6 ), to the Soviet KGB , and to the Israeli intelligence service Mossad . Six serving and former heads of Israeli intelligence services attended Maxwell's funeral in Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir eulogised him and stated: "He has done more for Israel than can today be told." Shortly before Maxwell's death, Ari Ben-Menashe ,
980-612: A subsidiary responsible for publishing encyclopedias was extremely profitable. At the same time, Pergamon had been forced to reduce its profit forecasts for 1969 from £2.5 million to £2.05 million during the period of negotiations, and dealing in Pergamon shares was suspended on the London stock markets . Maxwell subsequently lost control of Pergamon and was expelled from the board in October 1969, along with three other directors in sympathy with him, by
1050-537: A suitcase owned by his former head of security, John Pole. Later in his life, Maxwell had become increasingly paranoid about his own employees and had the offices of those he suspected of disloyalty bugged so he could hear their conversations. After Maxwell's death, the tapes remained in Pole's suitcase and were discovered by the researchers only in 2007. Maxwell's death triggered instability for his publishing empire, with banks frantically calling in their massive loans. Despite
1120-547: Is a British paper, run by British people ... as British as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding ... Let us keep it that way". The paper was later purchased by the Australian tycoon, Rupert Murdoch , who later that year acquired The Sun , which had also previously interested Maxwell. In 1969, Saul Steinberg , head of "Leasco Data Processing Corporation", was interested in a strategic acquisition of Pergamon Press. Steinberg claimed that during negotiations, Maxwell falsely stated that
1190-715: Is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously. The award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers . The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for
1260-516: Is not in our opinion a person who can be relied on to exercise proper stewardship of a publicly quoted company." It was found that Maxwell had contrived to inflate Pergamon's share price through transactions between his private family companies. At the same time, the United States Congress was investigating Leasco's takeover practices. Judge Thayne Forbes in September 1971 was critical of
1330-589: The Evening Standard , Maxwell eventually decided to make it the first 24-hour paper as well. In May 1987, Maxwell's BPCC made an unsolicited bid to acquire US publishing conglomerate Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ). HBJ defended itself from the hostile takeover attempt by going deeply into debt to make large cash payments to shareholders. The strain of the debt was a factor in HBJ's 1989 sale of its theme park holdings to Anheuser-Busch . These theme park assets included
1400-656: The Lady Ghislaine , named after his daughter Ghislaine . Maxwell was litigious and often embroiled in controversy. In 1989, he had to sell successful businesses, including Pergamon Press, to cover some of his debts. In 1991, his body was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht. He was buried in Jerusalem . Maxwell's death triggered the collapse of his publishing empire as banks called in loans. His sons briefly attempted to keep
1470-702: The Battle of Vitoria , where the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo . However, only thirty-eight held independent commands in the field, and just twelve served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (the pre-1904 professional head of the army) or Chief of the Imperial General Staff during a major war. Four field marshals ( Sir Evelyn Wood , Sir George White , Earl Roberts , and Lord Gort ) had previously received
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#17328766480101540-604: The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross . The Military Cross was designed by Henry Farnham Burke , while its ribbon was created by Victoria Ponsonby, Baroness Sysonby . In the Medal Yearbook 2015 it is described as follows: Since 1914, over 52,000 Military Crosses and 3,717 bars have been awarded. The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries: In addition, approximately 375 MCs have been awarded since 1979, including awards for Northern Ireland ,
1610-557: The Daily Mirror . Vanunu was subsequently kidnapped by Mossad and smuggled to Israel, convicted of treason and imprisoned for eighteen years. Ben-Menashe's story was ignored at first, but eventually journalist Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker repeated some of the allegations during a press conference in London held to publicise The Samson Option , Hersh's book about Israel's nuclear weapons. On 21 October 1991, Labour MP George Galloway and Conservative MP Rupert Allason (also known as espionage author Nigel West) agreed to raise
1680-732: The Falklands , and the wars in the Persian Gulf , Iraq , and Afghanistan . The above table includes awards to the Dominions: Field marshal (United Kingdom) Field marshal ( FM ) has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10 , it is equivalent to an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force in
1750-656: The Grenadier Guards , commanded a series of attacks while severely wounded during the First World War in 1918. Roberts received his VC for actions during the Indian Mutiny . Wellington, 44 at the time of his promotion, was the youngest non-royal officer to earn the rank of field marshal. Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda was the oldest, promoted at the age of 91, while a further twenty-three officers were promoted to field marshal in their eighties. Wellington
1820-481: The House of Commons provided him with a problem. "I can't get on with men", he commented. "I tried having male assistants at first. But it didn't work. They tend to be too independent. Men like to have individuality. Women can become an extension of the boss." Maxwell lost his seat in 1970 to Conservative challenger William Benyon . He contested Buckingham again in both 1974 general elections , but without success. At
1890-525: The Royal Air Force (RAF). A Field Marshal's insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below the Tudor Crown . Like Marshals of the Royal Air Force and Admirals of the Fleet, Field Marshals traditionally remain officers for life, though on half-pay when not in an appointment or retired. The rank has been used sporadically throughout its history, and was vacant during parts of
1960-643: The SeaWorld chain, which the company had purchased in 1976. By 1988, Maxwell's various companies owned, in addition to the Mirror titles and Pergamon Press, Nimbus Records , Maxwell Directories, Prentice Hall Information Services and the Berlitz language schools . He also owned a half-share of MTV in Europe and other European television interests, Maxwell Cable TV and Maxwell Entertainment. Maxwell purchased Macmillan Publishers ,
2030-682: The Victoria Cross (VC), the United Kingdom's highest and most prestigious award for gallantry 'in the face of the enemy'. Wood, a famously injury-prone officer, was awarded the VC for two actions in 1858, in which he first attacked a group of rebels in India, and later rescued an informant from another group of rebels. White, a cavalry officer , led two charges on enemy guns in Afghanistan in 1879, while Gort, of
2100-643: The 18th and 19th centuries (when all former holders of the rank were deceased). After the Second World War, it became standard practice to appoint the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (later renamed Chief of the General Staff ) to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff , the professional head of all the British Armed Forces , were usually promoted to
2170-478: The 1993 review of the honours system , as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery the Military Medal , formerly the third-level decoration for other ranks , was discontinued. The MC is now the third-level award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces for "exemplary gallantry" on land, not to the standard required to receive the Victoria Cross (for "the most conspicuous bravery") or
Robert Maxwell - Misplaced Pages Continue
2240-536: The American firm, for $ 2.6 billion in 1988. That same year, he launched an ambitious new project, a transnational newspaper called The European . In 1991, Maxwell was forced to sell Pergamon and Maxwell Directories to Elsevier for £440 million to cover his debts; he used some of this money to buy an ailing tabloid, the New York Daily News . The same year Maxwell sold forty-nine per cent of Mirror Group's stock to
2310-727: The British Printing Corporation (BPC) in 1981 and changed its name first to the British Printing and Communication Corporation (BPCC) and then to the Maxwell Communication Corporation (MCC). The company was later sold in a management buyout and is now known as Polestar. In July 1984, Maxwell acquired Mirror Group Newspapers , the publisher of six British newspapers, including the Daily Mirror , from Reed International plc . for £113 million. This led to
2380-626: The British government. This replenishment was limited and also supported by a surplus in the printers' fund, which was taken by the government in part payment of £100 million required to support the workers' state pensions. The rest of the £100 million was waived. Maxwell's theft of pension funds was therefore partly repaid from public funds. The result was that in general, pensioners received about half of their company pension entitlement. The Maxwell companies filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992. Kevin Maxwell
2450-614: The Cross were entitled to use the post-nominal letters MC, and bars could be awarded for further acts of gallantry meriting the award, with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar. From September 1916, members of the Royal Naval Division , who served alongside the Army on the Western Front , were made eligible for military decorations, including
2520-527: The Military Cross were unavailable until 1979, the first awards included seven posthumous awards, with the word 'deceased' after the name of the recipient, from recommendations that had been raised before the recipients died of wounds or died from other causes. Awards are announced in The London Gazette , apart from most honorary awards to allied forces in keeping with the usual practice not to gazette awards to foreigners. From August 1916, recipients of
2590-403: The Military Cross, for the war's duration. Naval officers serving with the division received 140 MCs and eight second award bars. In June 1917, eligibility was extended to temporary majors , not above the substantive rank of captain. Substantive majors were made eligible in 1953. In 1931, the award was extended to equivalent ranks in the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground. After
2660-628: The PROMIS software to Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory , two of the most important nuclear research and national security facilities in the United States. Maxwell allegedly employed John Tower , Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services , to facilitate the sales of the bugged Israeli version of the PROMIS software to Sandia and Los Alamos. The Foreign Office suspected Maxwell of being
2730-600: The Second World War, most Commonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards. The last Military Cross awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea. The last four Australian Army Military Cross awards were promulgated in The London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam as was the last New Zealand Army Military Cross award, which was promulgated on 25 September 1970. Canada , Australia and New Zealand have now created their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems. Since
2800-547: The beginning of 1969, it emerged that Maxwell's attempt to buy the tabloid newspaper News of the World had failed. The Carr family, which owned the newspaper, was incensed at the thought of a Czechoslovak immigrant with socialist views gaining ownership. The board voted against Maxwell's bid without any dissent. The News of the World ' s editor, Stafford Somerfield , opposed Maxwell's bid in an October 1968 front-page opinion piece in which he referred to Maxwell's Czechoslovak origins and used his birth name. He wrote, "This
2870-464: The business together, but failed as the news emerged that the elder Maxwell had embezzled hundreds of millions of pounds from his own companies' pension funds . The Maxwell companies applied for bankruptcy protection in 1992. After Maxwell's death, large discrepancies in his companies' finances were revealed, including his fraudulent misappropriation of the Mirror Group pension fund. Robert Maxwell
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2940-465: The corps (equivalent to colonel-in-chief ). The rank insignia of a field marshal in the British Army comprises two crossed batons in a wreath of laurel leaves, with a crown above. In some other countries, historically under the sphere of British influence, an adapted version of the insignia is used for field marshals, often with the crown being replaced with an alternative cultural or national emblem. On appointment, British field marshals are awarded
3010-453: The efforts of his sons Kevin and Ian, the Maxwell companies soon collapsed. It emerged that, without adequate prior authorisation, Maxwell had used hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies' pension funds to shore up the shares of the Mirror Group to save his companies from bankruptcy. Eventually, the pension funds were replenished with money from investment banks Lehman Brothers , Coopers & Lybrand , and Goldman Sachs , as well as
3080-503: The ground". Maxwell also bought into Derby County in 1987. He attempted to buy Manchester United in 1984 but refused owner Martin Edwards 's asking price. Pergamon Press, a Soviet -friendly firm, published numerous Soviet science books in the West. A bugged version of the intelligence spy software PROMIS was sold in the mid-1980s for Soviet government use, with Maxwell as a conduit. Maxwell
3150-458: The inquiry: "They had moved from an inquisitorial role to accusatory one and virtually committed the business murder of Mr. Maxwell." He further continued that the trial judge would probably find that the inspectors had acted "contrary to the rules of natural justice". Pergamon performed poorly under Steinberg; Maxwell reacquired the company in 1974 after borrowing funds. Maxwell established the Maxwell Foundation in Liechtenstein in 1970. He acquired
3220-479: The issue in the House of Commons under parliamentary privilege protection, which in turn allowed British newspapers to report events without fear of libel suits . Maxwell called the claims "ludicrous, a total invention" and fired Davies. A year later, in Galloway's libel settlement against Mirror Group Newspapers, Galloway's counsel announced that the MP accepted that the group's staff had not been involved in Vanunu's abduction. Galloway referred to Maxwell as "one of
3290-401: The majority owners of the company's shares. Steinberg purchased Pergamon. An inquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) under the Takeover Code of the time was conducted by Rondle Owen Charles Stable and Sir Ronald Leach in mid-1971. The inquiry resulted in a report that concluded: "We regret having to conclude that, notwithstanding Mr Maxwell's acknowledged abilities and energy, he
3360-426: The news without interference". Meanwhile, at a meeting of Maxwell's new employees, Mirror journalist Joe Haines asserted that he was able to prove that their boss was "a crook and a liar". Haines quickly came under Maxwell's influence and later wrote his authorised biography. In June 1985, Maxwell announced a takeover of Clive Sinclair 's ailing home computer company, Sinclair Research , through Hollis Brothers,
3430-405: The practice of promoting service chiefs to five-star ranks was stopped, and the ranks are now reserved for special circumstances. Sir Peter Inge was, in 1994, the last active officer to be promoted to the rank. Inge relinquished the post of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) in 1997, and his successor, Sir Charles Guthrie , was the first officer not to be promoted upon appointment as CDS, although he
3500-416: The public. Maxwell's links with Eastern European totalitarian regimes resulted in several biographies of those countries' leaders, with interviews conducted by Maxwell, for which he received much derision. At the beginning of an interview with Romania 's Nicolae Ceaușescu , then the country's communist leader, he asked, "How do you account for your enormous popularity with the Romanian people?" Maxwell
3570-560: The rank on their accessions to the throne, while Edward VII and Charles III were already field marshals, and two British consorts, Albert, Prince Consort and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , were appointed by their respective queens. Other ceremonial appointments were made as diplomatic gestures. Twelve foreign monarchs have held the honour, though three ( Wilhelm II , German Emperor; Franz Joseph I , Emperor of Austria-Hungary; and Hirohito , Emperor of Japan) were stripped of it when their countries became enemies of Britain and its allies in
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#17328766480103640-482: The rank upon their appointment. In total, 141 men have held the rank of field marshal. The majority led careers in the British Army or the colonial British Indian Army , rising through the ranks to eventually become a field marshal. Some members of the British Royal Family , most recently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Charles III , were promoted to the rank after shorter periods of service. Three British monarchs ( George V , Edward VIII , and George VI ) assumed
3710-418: The same time, Guthrie, who relinquished the post of CDS and retired from active service in 2001, was promoted to honorary field marshal. In June 2014, former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Walker of Aldringham was also promoted to honorary field marshal. Although the rank of field marshal is not used in the Royal Marines , the insignia is used on the uniform of the Captain General , the ceremonial head of
3780-414: The situation in the Soviet Union during the attempted coup of 1991 . He was a "great character", Major added. Neil Kinnock , then Labour Party leader, spoke of him as a man with "a zest for life" who "attracted controversy, envy and loyalty in great measure throughout his rumbustious life." A production crew conducting research for Maxwell , a 2007 biographical film by the BBC , uncovered tapes stored in
3850-401: The surname taken from the name of a popular cigarette brand ) took part in a protest against the leadership of the Czechoslovak Army, and with 500 other soldiers he was transferred to the Pioneer Corps and later to the North Staffordshire Regiment in 1943. He was then involved in action across Europe, from the Normandy beaches to Berlin , and achieved the rank of sergeant . Maxwell gained
3920-406: The two world wars. Also awarded the rank were one Frenchman ( Ferdinand Foch ) and one Australian ( Sir Thomas Blamey ), honoured for their contributions in World War I and World War II respectively, and one South African statesman ( Jan Smuts ). A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1995 made a number of recommendations for financial savings in the armed forces' budget, one of which
3990-445: The worst criminals of the century". On 4 November 1991, Maxwell had an argumentative phone call with his son Kevin over a meeting scheduled with the Bank of England on Maxwell's default on £50 million in loans. Maxwell missed the meeting, instead travelling on his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine , to the Canary Islands , Spain. On 5 November, Maxwell was last in contact with the crew of Lady Ghislaine at 4:25 a.m. local time, but
4060-404: Was Maxwell's covert help in smuggling aircraft parts into Israel that led to the country having air supremacy during the war. Maxwell is alleged to have distributed a bugged version of a software, PROMIS , to a plethora of national governments and global financial institutions that enabled mass spying by the government of Israel. Maxwell was allegedly able to sell the bugged Israeli version of
4130-545: Was afforded a lavish funeral in Israel, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir , Israeli President Chaim Herzog , at least six serving and former heads of Israeli intelligence and many dignitaries and politicians, both government and opposition, and was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem . Herzog delivered the eulogy, and the Kaddish was recited by his fellow Holocaust survivor, friend and longtime attorney Samuel Pisar . British Prime Minister John Major said Maxwell had given him "valuable insights" into
4200-458: Was also the chairman of Oxford United , saving them from bankruptcy and attempting to merge them with Reading in 1983 to form a club he wished to call " Thames Valley Royals ". He took Oxford into the top flight of English football in 1985, and the team won the League Cup a year later. Maxwell used the club's old grounds , close to his office at Headington Hill Hall , to land his helicopter—fans would chant, "He's fat, he's round, he's never on
4270-445: Was also the only field marshal to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . No officer whose career was spent in the British Army has ever reached the rank of field marshal without having served in the cavalry , infantry , Royal Armoured Corps , Royal Artillery , or Royal Engineers . One non-British officer has been appointed field marshal in the British Army; Ferdinand Foch of France, in recognition of his contributions in
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#17328766480104340-410: Was born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch in the small town of Slatinské Doly, in the region of Carpathian Ruthenia in Czechoslovakia (now Solotvyno , Ukraine) on 10 June 1923. Like the rest of the then-newly formed Czechoslovakia, the area of Maxwell's birth and upbringing had been part of the Austria-Hungary until early November 1918. The area was annexed by Hungary in 1939. Maxwell was born into
4410-469: Was death by a heart attack combined with accidental drowning , although three pathologists had been unable to agree on the cause of his death at the inquest; he had been found to suffer from serious heart and lung conditions. Murder was ruled out by the judge and, in effect, so was suicide. His son discounted the possibility of suicide, saying, "I think it is highly unlikely that he would have taken his own life, it wasn't in his makeup or his mentality." Maxwell
4480-400: Was declared bankrupt with debts of £400 million. In 1995, Kevin, Ian and two other former directors went on trial for conspiracy to defraud , but were unanimously acquitted by a 12-person jury the following year. In November 1994, Maxwell's widow Elisabeth published her memoirs, A Mind of My Own: My Life with Robert Maxwell , which sheds light on her life with him, when the publishing magnate
4550-505: Was found to be missing later in the morning. It has been speculated that Maxwell was urinating into the ocean nude at the time, as he often did. He was presumed to have fallen overboard from the vessel, which was cruising off the Canary Islands, south-west of Spain. Maxwell's naked body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and taken to Las Palmas . Besides a "graze to his left shoulder", there were no noticeable wounds on Maxwell's body. The official ruling at an inquest held in December 1991
4620-469: Was known to be litigious against those who would speak or write against him. The satirical magazine Private Eye lampooned him as "Cap'n Bob" and the "bouncing Czech", the latter nickname having originally been devised by Prime Minister Harold Wilson (under whom Maxwell was an MP). Maxwell took out several libel actions against Private Eye , one resulting in the magazine losing an estimated £225,000 and Maxwell using his commercial power to hit back with
4690-424: Was promoted to the honorary rank of field marshal in June 2012. The most recent promotions to field marshal came in 2012, eighteen years after the moratorium on routine promotions to the rank, when Queen Elizabeth II promoted Prince Charles, her son and heir apparent, to the five-star ranks in all three services, in recognition of support provided for her in her capacity as Head of the British Armed Forces . At
4760-593: Was ranked as one of the richest people in the world. Having earned her degree from Oxford University in 1981, Elisabeth devoted much of her later life to continued research on the Holocaust and worked as a proponent of Jewish-Christian dialogue. She died on 7 August 2013. In July 2020, Maxwell's youngest child, his daughter Ghislaine Maxwell , was arrested and charged in New Hampshire with six federal crimes, involving minors' trade, travel, and seduction to engage in criminal sexual activity, and conspiracy to entice children to engage in illegal sex acts, allegedly linked to
4830-458: Was severely injured in a car crash in 1961, at age 15, when his driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed headlong into another vehicle. Michael never regained consciousness and died seven years later. After the war, Maxwell used contacts in the Allied-occupation authorities to go into business, becoming the British and US distributor for Springer Verlag , a publisher of scientific books. In 1951, he bought three-quarters of Butterworth-Springer,
4900-416: Was the abolition of all five-star ranks. Part of the rationale was that these ranks were disproportionate to the size of the forces commanded by these officers, and that none of the United Kingdom's close allies, such as the United States (which reserves the rank of general of the army for officers who have commanded large armies in major wars), used such ranks. The recommendation was not taken up in full, but
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