Short answers, pulled from the story.
William Heinemann opened his doors in Covent Garden, London during 1890. The first book to bear the company name was Hall Caine's The Bondman which sold more than 450,000 copies within the United Kingdom.
Heinemann Educational Books created the African Writers Series in 1957 with Alan Hill and Van Milne spearheading the project. Chinua Achebe served as the first advisory editor of this initiative which focused on publishing writers from Africa.
Edmund Gosse edited the specific series known as Heinemann's International Library for the firm. This branding also included translations under that same title alongside other works like the Great Educators series.
Pearson purchased UK and South African arms in May 2007. Houghton Mifflin bought American operations later that year following the acquisition by Pearson.
William Heinemann died in 1920 leaving his business to others. A majority stake was subsequently purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday before Theodore Byard joined to lead the offices after working as a professional singer.