William Grant (19 December 1839 – 1923) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

distiller and entrepreneur who founded William Grant & Sons, the manufacturer of Glenfiddich, as such, the first company in the world to market a true single malt whisky and a leading brand today.

Life

Grant was descended from

Clan Grant Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan. History Origins One theory is that the ancestors of the chiefs of Clan Grant came to Scotland with the Normans to England where the name is found soon after the conquest of that country, although some h ...

, which arrived in

Speyside Speyside can refer to: * Speyside, Ontario, a settlement in Ontario * Strathspey, Scotland, the famous whisky producing region by the River Spey ** Speyside single malts, the type of whisky produced in Strathspey * Speyside, Trinidad and Tobago ...

after being rewarded with land for "services to the king". In 1745, three brothers fought in the Jacobite rebellion against Hanover. Alexander Grant survived the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

but had to flee to

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

where he was hidden by a clan chief. Alexander Grant's great-grandson, William Grant, was born in 1839 in Dufftown, Scotland. When he was seven he began herding the family cattle in the hills. He then worked as an apprentice shoemaker and a limeworks employee. He did, however, receive a good education. Consequently, in 1866 he became a bookkeeper at the local Distillery. He gained an appreciation for the production of whisky and became manager of the distillery, where he worked for 20 years. His wife, Elizabeth, had nine children. Throughout this period of his life he saved money to set himself up as a distiller. In 1886, he quit his job, purchased the necessary land, materials and machines, and built the Glenfiddich Distillery with the help of his 9 children. On Christmas day in 1887, his distillery began operation, pioneering single malt Scotch whisky. Until Glenfiddich only blended brands were common. Glenfiddich whisky from William Grant & Sons proved successful and so in 1892 he built a second distillery next door in Dufftown, known as the

Balvenie The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding ...

Distillery. His daughter Isabella married Charles Gordon, who became the company's first salesman. In 1909, Charles Gordon began travelling to export Glenfiddich around the world. By 1914, he had established distribution networks in 30 countries, and today the company exports to 180 countries.

Death

William Grant died in 1923. In the 2008

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

, his family were ranked 86th richest in the UK, and 3rd richest in Scotland. In the

Sunday Times Rich List 2013 The ''Sunday Times'' Rich List 2013 is the 25th annual survey of the wealthiest people resident in the United Kingdom, published by ''The Sunday Times (UK), The Sunday Times'' on 21 April 2013. ''The Guardian'' noted that "the annual rich list i ...

, the Grant and Gordon family were listed as the second richest family in Scotland. His grandson William Grant, Lord Grant (1909–1972) was an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

who served as Solicitor General for Scotland, Lord Advocate, and Lord Justice Clerk from 1962 to 1972.

Supercentenarian granddaughter

His granddaughter was a woman named Janet Roberts (née Gordon; 13 August 1901 - 6 April 2012) who lived to be

supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

. Bottles of whisky were produced in her honour to mark her 100th, 105th, 107th and 110th birthdays. She died in her home at the advanced age of 110. She was the oldest living person in Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, William 1839 births 1923 deaths Scottish businesspeople William Grant & Sons people