Barrett, Rosa (Mary)
Barrett, Rosa (Mary) (1854–1936) philanthropist, child-care worker, and suffragist, was born 15 January 1854 in Royston, Hertfordshire, England, daughter of the Rev. W. G. Barrett and Martha Barrett (née Fletcher). From the 1860s she was resident with her family in Dublin. Her…...
Bladen, William
Bladen, William (c.1585–1663), printer and bookseller, was born in England, son of Thomas Bladen, yeoman of Derbyshire; nothing is known of his mother. In 1602 he became an apprentice in the London Stationers’ company, being freed on 7 May 1610. Thereafter he worked in…...
Bruce, William
Bruce, William (1702–55), publisher and writer, was born in Killyleagh, Co. Down, the youngest of the three sons of the Rev. James Bruce (qv) (1660?–1730), and his wife, Margaret (née Trail), of Tullychin (d. 1706). He was educated at the…...
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig (1931–2013), thief, variously described as the 'king of the cat burglars' and 'the human fly', was born on 18 February 1931 in Belfast, the younger of two children, to Frederick Arnott Gulston, chief commercial traveller for White, Tompkins and Courage…...
Hinde, John Wilfrid
Hinde, John Wilfrid (1916–97), photographer and postcard manufacturer, was born 17 May 1916 in Street, Somerset, England, into a close-knit Quaker family, who later became Christian Scientist. His great-grandfather was James Clark, co-founder of the Clark's footwear company. During…...
Johnston (Johnston-Liik ), Edith Mary
Johnston (Johnston-Liik ), Edith Mary (1930–2008), historian and editor, was born 11 July 1930 in Belfast, eldest of three daughters of John Worthington Johnston (1904–52), athlete, presbyterian minister and army chaplain, and his wife Mary Isobel Giraud (née McFadden); a son died at…...
McGrath, William
McGrath, William (1916–91), loyalist and paedophile, was born 11 December 1916 in Belfast, son of Abraham McGrath and Jane McGrath (née Warrington). McGrath came from a methodist background; in later years he worked with presbyterian and Free Presbyterian churches while operating as a…...
Monteith, Charles Montgomery
Monteith, Charles Montgomery (1921–95), publisher, was born 9 February 1921 in Lisburn, Co. Antrim, son of James Monteith, draper, and Marian Monteith (née Montgomery). The family were devoutly presbyterian. Charles was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institute – he later…...
Payne, Davy (Hugh David)
Payne, Davy (Hugh David) (1948?–2003), loyalist paramilitary, was born in Belfast, where he was brought up in the Woodvale area of the Shankill Road. He was involved in loyalist activism from his teens (although he later falsely claimed to have been radicalised by IRA bombings in the…...
Pinkerton, Emily (Emilie) Cordner-
Pinkerton, Emily (Emilie) Cordner- (c.1859–1902), publisher, was born probably in Newry, Co. Down, where her parents, William Henry Cordner (d. 1890) and Matilda Cordner (née McCracken), had a jewellery and watchmaker's shop. There were also at least three sons in the family…...
Shaw, James Johnston
Shaw, James Johnston (1845–1910), economist, barrister, and judge, was born 4 January 1845 at Kirkcubbin, Co. Down, second son of John Maxwell Shaw (d. 1852), merchant and farmer, and Anne Shaw (née Johnston). His father died when he was only seven, leaving his mother to raise a…...
Smith, John
Smith, John (d. 1771), presbyterian bookseller, was a native of Ulster. Nothing is known of his parents, but he was probably a kinsman of William Smith (1698–1741), one of his business partners. William was a son of Samuel Smith, a Belfast merchant and an associate of…...
Stevenson, John
Stevenson, John (1850–1931), printer, inventor, antiquary, and author, was born in Rostrevor, Co. Down, in 1850, eldest among three to five sons of John Stevenson (d. 1881) and Harriet Stevenson (née Walsh; d. 1891). One brother died in childhood and one as a young man; there may…...
Tillie, William
Tillie, William (1822–1904), shirt manufacturer, was born in October 1822 in Crookston Mains, in the parish of Stow, Midlothian, Scotland, son of John Tillie and his wife Jannet Tillie (née Brown), who were substantial farmers; he had at least two brothers and a sister. Until Tillie…...
Wright, William (‘Billy’)
Wright, William (‘Billy’) (1960–97), loyalist paramilitary, was born in July 1960 in Wolverhampton in the west midlands of England, son of David Wright and his wife, both originally from Portadown, Co. Armagh. The Wrights had moved to England because of harassment after David…...