Douglas Vickers Vanity Fair 30 December 1909

Douglas Vickers (24 July 1861 – 23 November 1937) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. His family owned the famous

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

firm Vickers, Sons & Co. Ltd.

Early life

Vickers was born on 24 July 1861 in

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. He was a son of Frances Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Douglas) Vickers (1841–1904) and Colonel Thomas Edward Vickers (1833–1915). His father commissioned

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

to paint portraits of the family. Douglas' portrait was painted in 1914.

Career

He became Director of the family business in 1897, and was Master Cutler of Sheffield in 1908. He was elected as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP for Sheffield Hallam in 1918, and held the seat until 1922. In 1918, he succeeded his uncle as chairman of the armament firm Vickers Ltd. and served in that role until 1926 making "many valuable contributions to metallurgical science and provided funds for the investigation of new treatments for tuberculosis." He retired in 1926 when the firm merged with

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

. to become Vickers Armstrongs, Ltd.

Personal life

In 1893, Vickers was married to Katharine Adelaide Chetwynd (1862–1944), a daughter of Capt. Hon. Henry Weyland Chetwynd and a granddaughter of

Richard Chetwynd, 6th Viscount Chetwynd Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

. Katharine's brother later succeeded as the 8th Viscount Chetwynd. Together, Douglas and Katharine were the parents of four children: * Oliver Henry Douglas (1898–1928), who married Barbara Kathleen Wallace, a daughter of Falconer Lewis Wallace, DL. * Felicity Ida Vickers (1901–1901), who died in infancy. * Sholto Douglas Vickers (1902–1939), who married Princess Olga Alexandrovna

Galitzine The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest m ...

. * Angus Douglas Vickers (1904–1990), a Lt. Col. in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who married Phyllis Maud Francis. He died on 23 November 1937 in

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

. He is buried in the family plot in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

References

External links

*
Portrait of Douglas Vickers by John Singer Sargent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Douglas 1861 births 1937 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Master Cutlers Politicians from Sheffield UK MPs 1918–1922 Burials at Brookwood Cemetery