91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Person    | Male  Born 19/9/1851  Died 7/5/1925

William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme

William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme

Soap magnate and philanthropist, founder of Port Sunlight, near Liverpool. Born 6 Wood Street, Bolton, Lancashire. Known for his patronage of the arts and paternalistic social policies, he was also an advocate for expansion of the British Empire, particularly in Africa and Asia, which supplied palm oil, a key ingredient in Lever's product line. By 1911 his firm had become associated with forced labour and atrocities in the Belgian Congo.

Died at his London home, Hill House, now Inverforth House. His company grew and merged to become today's Unilever.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme

Commemorated ati

Lord Leverhulme

William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, 1851 - 1925, soap-maker and p...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Other Subjects

Bernhard Baron

Bernhard Baron

Tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist. Born in what is now Belarus. His father took him to the United States when young; and there, after working at a tobacco factory, he began making the newly p...

Person, Industry, Philanthropy

1 memorial
Beneke family

Beneke family

In the 19th century Camberwell housed one of the largest German communities in Britain. One of the families was the Benekes, related to Mendelssohn's wife Cecile. Johann Beneke had come from Hambu...

Group, Industry, Science

1 memorial
Mitcham drought relief

Mitcham drought relief

Mitcham is located on the fast-flowing River Wandle. It attracted a lot of industries, many requiring water power. Bleaching, dying and fabric printing, along with mills producing tobacco, paper, g...

Event, Industry

1 memorial
Jahncke Ltd

Jahncke Ltd

From National Archives: "Tin box manufactures of Canonbury Works, Dorset Street, Islington {later renamed Dove Street}. Founded in 1873 by Ernest Jahncke and incorporated in 1893. Bryant and May ac...

Group, Commerce, Industry

1 memorial
Reeves & Sons Ltd

Reeves & Sons Ltd

Artists' colour manufacturer. Established by William Reeves (1739–1803). It has had a number of names, always including "Reeves" until ownership passed to Wilhelm Becker, through Colart Fine Art an...

Group, Art, Commerce, Industry

1 memorial