William Dillwyn Sims (7 July 1825,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

– 7 March 1895) 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 and artist based in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. In 1851 he joined the company Ransomes and May, in which his uncle Charles May was a partner. Charles left in 1852 and the company became Ransomes and Sims. Sims remained involved in the company as it evolved into

Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harvest ...

Early life

William was the son of Dr. John Sims and Lydia Dillwyn, who were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in Westminster,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His Aunt, Ann Dillwyn married

Richard Dykes Alexander Richard Dykes Alexander (15 August 1788 – 1865) was a businessman and philanthropist based in Ipswich, Suffolk. Family life He was the son of Dykes Alexander (1763–1849) and Hannah Brewster. His parents were Quakers and he followed his f ...

, another prominent Quaker in

References

1825 births 1895 deaths Artists from Ipswich 19th-century English businesspeople English industrialists Businesspeople from Ipswich {{England-business-bio-stub