Publication of Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records began as a book of facts and records, compiled in London by the twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter. The idea originated with Sir Hugh Beaver, managing director of the Guinness brewery, who had been frustrated by an argument over which was Europe's fastest game bird and realised that no reference book could settle such questions. The first edition appeared in late summer and quickly became a bestseller. Published annually ever since, it records extremes of human achievement and of the natural world, has been translated into dozens of languages, and has been described as one of the best-selling copyrighted series of all time.

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