Upon researching various sites regarding public relations, I have come to the conclusion that public relations does not have a concrete documented history. Edward Bernays, whom many consider the founder of modern public relations, wrote, "The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society; informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people." (http://www.instituteforpr.com/pdf/HistoryofPublic%20Relation--Institute.pdf) If we look at these three elements, then public relations history actually began with the creation of earth. .
Informing, persuading, and integrating people are a normal part of society today and in the past. Take Noah for instance, he was persuaded to build an arc without any additional information. The Egyptians persuaded people by impressing upon them that their architecture was a representation of the greatness of priests, nobles, and scribes. Caesar, as agreed to by most historians, (http://www.instituteforpr.com/pdf/HistoryofPublic%20Relation--Institute.pdf) was one of the first to utilize propaganda. Caesar published the Acta Diurna that remained in circulation for over 400 years. This was his way informing people of what was happening. Other great examples of public relations can be viewed in the Magna Carta, which helped to inspire the U.S. Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and even as far back as the Federalist Papers. These are some fine examples that follow Bernays description of public relations.
The "Mini-Me" History To Inform and Persuade: Public Relations from the Dawn of Civilization, written by Don Bates, 2002, brought out some unique historical examples of public relations. For example, the legends of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were both the result of public relations campaigns. However, Bates document states that the master of all nineteenth - century press agents was Phineus T.
