'The imprints that make up Pearson Education describe a rich educational and literary heritage. They stretch back to 1725 when Thomas Longman published the first book typeset by Benjamin Franklin. The Scott Foresman imprint, dating back to 1889, taught generations of Americans to read with the first Dick, Jane, and Spot stories.
Law professor, Dr. Charles Gerstenberg, and his student, Richard Ettinger, founded Prentice Hall in 1913. Taking their mothers' maiden names, Prentice and Hall, to name their new company, Gerstenberg and Ettinger would create the premier U.S. publisher of academic, business, and professional books.
Addison-Wesley's reputation as a science and math publisher of note was firmly established with the debut of the best-selling, Mechanics, in 1942.
Publishing under imprints such as Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, FT Prentice Hall, Longman and Prentice Hall, Pearson Education is the world's leading educational publisher. Pearson Education is part of the global media and education group Pearson, and a sister company of Penguin and the Financial Times newspaper.'
http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/Aboutus/ (Sighted 20/01/05)