George Holt (1825 – 3 April 1896) was a Victorian ship owner, merchant and art collector from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Together with William James Lamport, he founded the

Lamport and Holt Lamport and Holt was a UK merchant shipping line. It was founded as a partnership in 1845, reconstituted as a limited company in 1911 and ceased trading in 1991. From 1845 until 1975 Lamport and Holt was headquartered in Liverpool. The founder ...

shipping line in 1845.

Life

Holt was a son of George Holt and Emma Durning. He married fellow Liverpudlian Elizabeth Bright on 1 December 1853 and died on 3 April 1896. The Holts lived initially at Edge Lane, and then in

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...

before moving in 1884 to Sudley House in Aigburth, Liverpool. They had one child,

Emma Holt Emma Holt (10 January 1862 – 19 December 1944) was a British philanthropist and supporter of women's education. She was seen as Liverpool University's "Fairy Godmother". Life Holt was born in West Derby (now in Liverpool). She was the only child ...

, who was born in 1862, inherited the property and lived there until her death in 1944. Her mother, who was born in 1833, had died in 1920. Among his brothers were

Alfred Holt Alfred Holt (13 June 1829 – 28 November 1911) was a British engineer, ship owner and merchant. He lived at Crofton, Aigburth in Liverpool, England. Holt is credited with establishing the long distance steamship by developing a type tha ...

(1829–1911), founder of the

Blue Funnel Line Alfred Holt and Company, trading as Blue Funnel Line, was a UK shipping company that was founded in 1866 and operated merchant ships for 122 years. It was one of the UK's larger shipowning and operating companies, and as such had a significan ...

, Philip Holt (1830–1914), and

Robert Durning Holt Robert Durning Holt (11 October 1832 in Liverpool – 10 December 1908) was an English cotton-broker and local politician. He was Mayor of Liverpool and the first Lord Mayor of Liverpool (1892–1893). Holt was the youngest of five sons o ...

, the first Lord Mayor of Liverpool. There was also a sister, Anne. All were Unitarians. Aside from business interests and his role with the

Mersey Docks and Harbour Board The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed north ...

, Holt was very involved with and supportive of both the experimental work of the physicist

Oliver Lodge Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, (12 June 1851 – 22 August 1940) was a British physicist and writer involved in the development of, and holder of key patents for, radio. He identified electromagnetic radiation independent of Hertz's proof and at his ...

and the Liverpool Physical Society. He donated over £40,000 to University College, Liverpool, which was the precursor of the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, including endowments for professorial chairs in physiology and pathology, and for research studentships in medical sciences. The University of Liverpool's George Holt Building, which currently houses five laboratories of the university's department of computer science, is named after him. His wife and daughter, Emma Holt, contributed £10,000 towards the total £24,000 cost of erecting the building, which opened in 1904 Elizabeth and Emma would in time donate their time, paintings, furniture and over £30,000 to the university. There is a Halls of Residence at

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, before admitting its first male stu ...

called Holt in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, George Businesspeople from Liverpool People of the Victorian era 1825 births 1896 deaths English merchants English philanthropists

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Ship owners English Unitarians English art collectors 19th-century English businesspeople