Henry Isaac Rowntree (1838–1883) was the founder of

Rowntree's Rowntree's is a British confectionery brand and former business based in York, England. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands ...

, one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's largest confectionery businesses.

Career

Having served his apprenticeship in his father's shop at The Pavement in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and following his father's death in 1860, Henry Rowntree went to work for the

Tuke family The Tuke family of York were a family of Quaker innovators involved in establishing: * Rowntree's Cocoa Works * The Retreat Mental Hospital *three Quaker schools - Ackworth, Bootham, and The Mount They included four generations. The main Tukes ...

at their shop in

Walmgate Walmgate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. During the Medieval period, the street was the site of a seafissh and cattle market. Walmgate Bar, was involved in the Siege of York in 1644, during the First English Civil War. Durin ...

.Fitzgerald, R. Page 47
/ref> In June 1862 Henry Isaac bought out the

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

, cocoa-making and

chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to the Old World, it has been introduced to North America and Austra ...

departments and ran the business himself employing around a dozen people.Fitzgerald, R. Page 48 He followed Quaker principles and always insisted on the highest quality. In August 1864 he bought a disused

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

at Tanners Moat and built a new factory there.Fizgerald, R, Page 48 However, he became distracted from his chocolate business by his mission to produce, edit and print the ''Yorkshire Weekly Press'': accordingly his chocolate business suffered and in June 1869 he took on his brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

as a full partner in the business, now renamed H. I. Rowntree & Co. The brothers continued in partnership and the business went from strength to strength until Henry Isaac's untimely death in 1883.

Family

In February 1868 he married Harriet Selina Osborn in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

References

External links

Henry I. Rowntree
at The Rowntree Society Rowntree's 1837 births 1883 deaths Confectioners English Quakers

Henry Isaac Rowntree Henry Isaac Rowntree (1838–1883) was the founder of Rowntree's, one of the United Kingdom's largest confectionery businesses. Career Having served his apprenticeship in his father's shop at The Pavement in York, and following his father's dea ...

History of chocolate 19th-century British philanthropists People from York 19th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub

Career

Family

References

Further reading

External links