September 10, 1926 – March 23, 2007 (80)
California
- Robert E. Peterson Publisher
- Jan 1948 Hot Rod magazine started
- Motor Trend
- 1958 – Guns & Ammo Magazine
– added a “Keep & Bear Arms” section - Ken Elliot
- 1970s Petersen Motorama Cars of the Stars on Hollywood Boulevard
- June 1994 Petersen Automotive Museum opened
- 1996 sold his company for $450 million
- 2000 the museum separated from the Natural History Museum
– independent entity owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation - Oct 8, 2010 donated 400 gun collection to the NRA National Firearms Museum
– Display opened in October
About Robert E. Petersen
Robert Einar “Pete” Petersen (1926-2007) built one of the largest special-interest magazine companies in the United States. Born in East Los Angeles, he launched Hot Rod magazine in 1948 with a first print run of 5,000 copies, and Petersen Publishing grew to include Motor Trend and Guns & Ammo, a title that has reached generations of American shooters. In 1996 he sold the company to a private equity fund for $450 million.
Petersen was also a lifelong hunter and serious collector of antique and modern firearms, including the only three Parker Invincible shotguns ever made by Parker Bros. He founded the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in 1994 and owned Sports Afield from 1999 to 2002. After his death in Santa Monica in 2007, his widow donated a 400-piece portion of his gun collection to the National Rifle Association’s National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia, as he had wished, so gun owners can still see the collection in person.
Key Facts
- September 10, 1926: Born in East Los Angeles, California
- 1948: First issue of Hot Rod magazine
- 1994: Founded the Petersen Automotive Museum
- 1996: Sold Petersen Publishing Company for $450 million
- 1999-2002: Owned Sports Afield magazine
- March 23, 2007: Died in Santa Monica, California
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Sources
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