William Henry Smith (1792–1865) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
William Henry Smith (7 July 1792 – 28 July 1865) was a British
Born the son of Henry Walton Smith and Anna Eastaugh, William Henry Smith was brought up by his mother following the death of his father when he was only a few weeks old. His parents established a news vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London, the precursor of
/ref> In 1812, following the death of Zaccheus Coates, a business associate of his mother, he went into the family business in partnership with his mother and his brother. In 1816 his mother died and the business was equally divided between him and his brother Henry Edward Smith. William proved the more capable businessman of the two, and the firm became known as W H Smith.WH Smith: History
/ref> After his father's death, the business was valued at £1,280 (about ~£ in 2012, adjusted by inflation). In 1846, he admitted his son as a partner, and the firm became W H Smith & Son. Book stalls at railway stations proved an especially successful endeavour.Walbank, Alan. 1960. “Railway Reading.” ''
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
whose business included both newsagents
A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...
and book shops. He was born in Little Thurlow
Little Thurlow is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located around a mile north-east of its sister village Great Thurlow, and four miles north of Haverhill, Suffolk, ...
, Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
, but ran his business in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, where he died. The family business evolved into the chain W H Smith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...
.
Career
Born the son of Henry Walton Smith and Anna Eastaugh, William Henry Smith was brought up by his mother following the death of his father when he was only a few weeks old. His parents established a news vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London, the precursor of W H Smith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...
in 1792.History 1792-1900/ref> In 1812, following the death of Zaccheus Coates, a business associate of his mother, he went into the family business in partnership with his mother and his brother. In 1816 his mother died and the business was equally divided between him and his brother Henry Edward Smith. William proved the more capable businessman of the two, and the firm became known as W H Smith.WH Smith: History
/ref> After his father's death, the business was valued at £1,280 (about ~£ in 2012, adjusted by inflation). In 1846, he admitted his son as a partner, and the firm became W H Smith & Son. Book stalls at railway stations proved an especially successful endeavour.Walbank, Alan. 1960. “Railway Reading.” ''
The Book Collector
''The Book Collector'' is a London based journal that deals with all aspects of the book.
It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritage ...
'' 9 no.3 (Autumn): 285-291.
He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...
, London.
Family
In 1817, William Henry married Mary Ann Cooper, a rigorous practitioner of Wesley'sProtestantism
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
: they married at St George's, Hanover Square and eventually they had eight children: seven girls, and one boy, who was also named William Henry Smith.
References
Bibliography
*''First with the News: The History of W.H.Smith, 1792–1972''. By Charles Wilson. WHS, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William Henry 1792 births 1865 deaths British retail company founders Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English businesspeople in retailing 19th-century English businesspeople