Stanley Unwin
From Tolkien Gateway
Sir Stanley Unwin (19 December 1884 – 13 October 1968) was a British publisher, founder of the George Allen and Unwin house in 4 August1914. This published serious and sometimes controversial authors like Bertrand Russell and Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1936 J.R.R. Tolkien submitted The Hobbit for publication, and Unwin paid his ten-year-old son Rayner a few pence to write a report on the manuscript. Rayner's favourable response prompted Unwin to publish the book. Once the book became a success Unwin asked Tolkien for a sequel, which eventually became The Lord of the Rings.