Born in
Frensham,
Surrey, he was the son of the British newspaper magnate
Sir C. Arthur and
Dame Ethel (Fraser) Pearson. His father, who was a journalist, died in 1921, whereupon he succeeded to the baronetage. Pearson served during the
World War I from 1917 to 1918 in the
Royal Field Artillery. He succeeded his father as publisher of a number of magazines (working for
George Newnes Ltd in London, which had acquired
C. Arthur Pearson Ltd as an imprint). From 1923 to 1953 his private secretary at George Newnes Ltd. was the British poet and novelist
Stevie Smith. He was married in 1922 to Hon. Mary Angela Mond, daughter of the Minister of Health
Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett. In 1928 he married the actress
Gladys Cooper, but divorced her in 1936. Sir Neville and Lady Pearson had one daughter, Sally Pearson, a.k.a. Sally Cooper, who was married to actor
Robert Hardy from 1961 to 1986. Sir Neville served again, during
World War II, as a major in an anti-aircraft regiment of the
Royal Artillery. Pearson, who by that time had taken residence in the United States at
Hightstown, New Jersey, == See also ==