News Organizations and Titles: Founder, publisher and chairman, Financial World, 1902-53.
Legacy: In 1902, Mr. Guenther, along with his father, Otto, founded Financial World, a publication dedicated to exposing securities fraud and which later crusaded for full financial disclosure by companies. The publication also did extensive company profiles before ceasing publication in 1998.
Journalistic Progeny: B.C. Forbes, Clarence W.Barron, Robert J. Flaherty, and Tom and David Gardner.
Personal: Born 1875 in London; died March 11, 1953, in New York City. He was a governor of the New York Athletic Club, a member of the Downtown Athletic Club, Lawyers Club, Bankers Club and Masons.
Family: Wife, Hedda Dawn Engel Guenther.
Home run stories or accomplishments: Under Mr. Guenther's guidance, the periodical published the Independent Appraisals of Stocks beginning in 1922, which was the basis for published stock-rating systems. In 1940, the publication established the "Excellence in Annual Reporting" competition that recognized annual reports that, in the words of former publisher Seth E. Hoyt, "provide their shareholders and potential investors with the most complete information, both qualitative and quantitative, about their performance and prospects." Later, as part of those awards, the Louis Guenther Award was given by Financial World to corporations for financial reporting and writing excellence.
What he made headlines for: Three years after its founding, Financial World was moved from Chicago to New York City.