Bamber [née Balmuth], Helen Rae (1925–2014), human rights advocate and psychotherapist, was born at Westminster Hospital, London, on 1 May 1925, the only child of Louis Balmuth (1887–1961), accountant, and his wife Marie, née Bader (1895–1969), a singer. At the time of her birth registration her parents, both of Polish-Jewish descent, lived at ...
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Bamber [née Balmuth], Helen Rae (1925–2014), human rights advocate and psychotherapist
Tarnjit Birdi
Article
Buttall, Jonathan (1752–1805), ironmonger
David Tyler
Buttall, Jonathan (1752–1805), ironmonger, the possible subject of Thomas Gainsborough's painting The Blue Boy, was the eldest of the three sons of Jonathan Buttall (d. 1768), ironmonger, and Elizabeth, née Higgins (d. 1780). He was probably born at the family's house in ...
Article
Christie, James (1730–1803), auctioneer
Frank Herrmann
Christie, James (1730–1803), auctioneer, was born in Perth, Scotland. Little is known of his background, except that his mother was a MacDonald; his father, an Englishman of good family. He entered the navy, but resigned his commission as a midshipman about 1750 in order to marry....
Article
Cliff, Clarice (1899–1972), ceramic designer and art director
Alun R. Graves
Cliff, Clarice (1899–1972), ceramic designer and art director, was born on 20 January 1899 at 19 Meir Street, Tunstall, Staffordshire, one of eight children of Harry Thomas Cliff, iron-moulder, and his wife, Ann (née Machin). Her parents were working-class and of Staffordshire...
Article
Conran, Sir Terence Orby (1931–2020), designer, restaurateur, and entrepreneur
Richard Weight
Conran, Sir Terence Orby (1931–2020), designer, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, was born on 4 October 1931 at Down Cottage, Hillbrow Road, Esher, Surrey, the son of (Gerard) Rupert Conran (1905–1984), gum and resin merchant, and his first wife, Christina Mabel Joan, née...
Article
Courtauld, Samuel (1876–1947), industrialist and patron of the arts
D. C. Coleman
Courtauld, Samuel (1876–1947), industrialist and patron of the arts, was born at Bocking, Essex, on 7 May 1876, the second son of Sydney Courtauld, a silk manufacturer, and his wife, Sarah Lucy, the daughter of William Sharp. The Courtaulds had arrived in England...
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Dilke [née Strong; other married name Pattison], Emilia Francis, Lady Dilke (1840–1904), art historian and trade unionist
Hilary Fraser
Dilke [née Strong; other married name Pattison], Emilia Francis, Lady Dilke (1840–1904), art historian and trade unionist, was born on 2 September 1840 in Ilfracombe, Devon, the fourth of the six children of Henry Strong (1794–1876) and his wife, Emily Weedon (...
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Duncan, John (1794–1881), hand-loom weaver and botanist
Anne Secord
Duncan, John (1794–1881), hand-loom weaver and botanist, was born on 19 December 1794 at Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, the illegitimate son of John Duncan, weaver and soldier, from Drumlithie, and Ann Caird (c.1773–c.1830), also of Drumlithie, who decided to support herself and her child by weaving stockings and harvesting at nearby ...
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Fagon, Alfred (1937–1986), actor, playwright, and poet
Stephen Bourne
Fagon, Alfred (1937–1986), actor, playwright, and poet, was born on 25 June 1937 in Clarendon, Jamaica, where his parents were smallholders and also kept a post office and store. He had eight brothers and two sisters. After leaving school at thirteen he worked with his father as a cultivator on his orange plantation....
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Frye, Thomas (1711/12–1762), portrait painter and porcelain manufacturer
Michael Wynne
Frye, Thomas (1711/12–1762), portrait painter and porcelain manufacturer, was born in Edenderry, King's county, Ireland, the second of the five sons and two daughters of John Fry (1670–1752) and his wife, Anne Harrington. His grandfather was a dragoon officer who fought with William III...
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Gibbs, William (1790–1875), businessman and religious philanthropist
Matthew Kilburn
Gibbs, William (1790–1875), businessman and religious philanthropist, was born on 22 May 1790 at 6 Calle de Cantarranas, Madrid, Spain, the second son of Antony Gibbs (1756–1815), merchant, and his wife, Dorothea Barnetta, née Hucks (1760–1820). The judge and politician Sir Vicary Gibbs...
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Gimson, Ernest William (1864–1919), craftsman and architect
Fiona MacCarthy
Gimson, Ernest William (1864–1919), craftsman and architect, was born in Leicester on 21 December 1864, the fourth child and second son in the family of three sons and four daughters of Josiah Gimson (1818–1883), iron-founder, engineer, and industrial entrepreneur, who established the Vulcan works...
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Heal, Sir Ambrose (1872–1959), shopkeeper and furniture designer
Alan Crawford
Heal, Sir Ambrose (1872–1959), shopkeeper and furniture designer, was born on 3 September 1872 at Crouch End, London, the eldest child of Ambrose Heal (1847–1913), bedding manufacturer and furnisher, and Emily Maria (1849–1938), daughter of Thomas Stephenson of Finchley. Thus he was born into the family firm of ...
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Lever, William Hesketh, first Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), soap manufacturer and philanthropist
Richard Davenport-Hines
Lever, William Hesketh, first Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), soap manufacturer and philanthropist, was born on 19 September 1851, at 16 Wood Street, Bolton, seventh child and elder son of James Lever (1809–1897), wholesale and retail grocer, and his wife, Eliza, daughter of William Hesketh...
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Magniac, Hollingworth (1786–1867), merchant and connoisseur of medieval art
Charles Sebag-Montefiore
revised by Richard J. Grace
Magniac, Hollingworth (1786–1867), merchant and connoisseur of medieval art, was born in Kensington, London, on 15 April 1786, the fourth son and seventh child in a family of eight sons and three daughters of Colonel Francis Magniac (d. 1823) of Kensington and ...
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Mellor, David Rogerson (1930–2009), silversmith and industrial designer
Alan Crawford
Mellor, David Rogerson (1930–2009), silversmith and industrial designer, was born on 5 October 1930 at 181 Tapton Hill Road, Ecclesall, Sheffield, the second child and only son of Colin Mellor, a toolmaker at the Sheffield Twist Drill Company, and his wife, Ivy, née...
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Northwood, John (bap. 1836, d. 1902), glass artist and manufacturer
Charles R. Hajdamach
Northwood, John (bap. 1836, d. 1902), glass artist and manufacturer, was born in Wordsley, Staffordshire, where he was baptized on 13 November 1836, the second of three surviving sons among the seven children of Frederick Northwood (1805/6–1881), a carpenter and later a grocery store keeper, and his wife, ...
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Sassoon, Vidal (1928–2012), hairdresser, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
Caroline Cox
Sassoon, Vidal (1928–2012), hairdresser, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, was born on 17 January 1928 at 101 Shepherd's Bush Road, Hammersmith, London, the son of Jack Sassoon, a carpet dealer, originally from Salonika, Greece, and his East End-born wife, Betty, née Belinsky (1900–1997), both Sephardic Jews. After his parents' separation in 1931 his mother found it difficult to bring up ...
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Spode, Josiah (1755–1827), potter and merchant
Helen L. Phillips
Spode, Josiah (1755–1827), potter and merchant, was born on 8 May 1755 at Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Josiah Spode (1733–1797), founder of the Spode pottery factory there, and Ellen, née Finley (1726–1802). He was trained in the art of ceramic manufacture by his father and entered the family firm. On 9 July 1775 he married ...
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Sprimont, Nicholas (bap. 1715, d. 1771), goldsmith and porcelain manufacturer
Tessa Murdoch
Sprimont, Nicholas (bap. 1715, d. 1771), goldsmith and porcelain manufacturer, was baptized in Liège on 23 January 1715, the son of Pierre Sprimont and Gertrude Goffin, and may have been apprenticed there to his uncle Nicholas Joseph Sprimont (c.1678–1744). Given his knowledge of French silver and porcelain it is likely that he also trained in ...
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