Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1873–1912), shipbuilder, was born 7 February 1873 at Ardara, Comber, Co. Down, where his family, members of the non-subscribing presbyterian church, had been prominent in business for several generations. He was the second son of Thomas Andrews (1843–1916), for…...
Barbour, Sir John Milne
Barbour, Sir John Milne (1868–1951), industrialist and politician, was born 4 January 1868 at The Fort, Dunmurry, near Lisburn, Co. Antrim, son of John Doherty Barbour (chairman of one of Ulster's biggest flax-spinning firms) and Elizabeth Law Milne Barbour of Edinburgh. He was…...
Beamish, Francis Bernard
Beamish, Francis Bernard (1802–68), politician and brewer, was born 5 April 1802, eighth son among twelve children of William Beamish (qv), founder of the Beamish & Crawford porter brewery, and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert…...
Butler, Pierce
Butler, Pierce (1744–1822), soldier, planter, slaveholder, delegate to the constitutional convention and US senator, was born in Ballintemple House, Co. Carlow on 11 July 1744, the third son of Sir Richard Butler, 5th baronet of Cloughgrenan and member of the Irish parliament, and his…...
Charley, William
Charley, William (1826–90), linen bleacher, was born 11 April 1826, second of three sons of William Charley, a prominent linen bleacher, and Isabella Charley (née Hunter) of Seymour Hill, near Dunmurry, Co. Antrim. His father, one of the founders of the Northern Banking Company of…...
Cleeve, Sir Thomas Henry
Cleeve, Sir Thomas Henry (1844–1908), industrialist, was born 5 June 1844 in Richmond, Quebec, Canada, eldest son among six sons and one daughter of Edward Elms Cleeve (1814–85), originally of Woolwich, England, and later of Cleveland, Quebec, and his wife Sophia Olivia (d. 1904),…...
Crawford, William Horatio
Crawford, William Horatio (1812×1818–1888), brewer and philanthropist, was first-born son of William Crawford (d. 1840), brewer, and Dulcibella Crawford (née Morris) of Lakelands House, Blackrock, Cork; a brother died young. The family was originally from Co. Down, related to the…...
Crommelin, (Samuel) Louis
Crommelin, (Samuel) Louis (1652–1727), huguenot businessman, settler of Lisburn, Co. Antrim, and putative founder of the Irish linen industry, was born in Armancourt, near St Quentin, in the French province of Picardy, the son of Louis Crommelin and Marie Mettayer. The Crommelin…...
Ferguson, John Stephenson
Ferguson, John Stephenson (1761–1833), linen manufacturer, was the eldest son of James Ferguson (d. 29 December 1784), medical doctor, and Jane Ferguson (née Stephenson) of Belfast. His date of birth and details of his education are unknown. His father, who had other children from…...
Foreman, Sir Philip Frank
Foreman, Sir Philip Frank (1923–2013), engineer and chief executive, was born on 16 March 1923 in Exning, Suffolk, England, the only child of Frank Foreman, a farm labourer of Exning, and his wife Mary (née Chapple), the daughter of a Manchester police officer. His family soon moved to…...
Gamble, David
This is a co-subject for the entry on Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher. View the original entry....
Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher
Gamble, Josias (or Josiah) Christopher (1778–1848), presbyterian minister and chemical manufacturer, was born in August 1778, fourth of five sons of David Gamble, farmer, from near Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, whose wife's maiden name was Rutherford, and who also had a daughter.…...
Grimshaw, Nicholas
Grimshaw, Nicholas (1747–1805), pioneer of the cotton industry in Ireland, was born 10 July 1747 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, one of three known sons of Nicholas Grimshaw and his wife Susannah Briercliffe, who both died in 1777. The family seems to have been connected to…...
Guinness, Arthur
Guinness, Arthur (1725–1803), brewer and iconic pioneer of Ireland's most famous alcoholic beverage, was born 12 March 1725, eldest of four sons of Richard Guinness of Celbridge, Co. Kildare, and his wife, Elizabeth Read (1698–1742). His father was for many years the estate agent…...
Guinness, Arthur
This is a co-subject for the entry on Guinness, Sir Benjamin Lee. View the original entry....
Guinness, Sir Benjamin Lee
Guinness, Sir Benjamin Lee (1798–1868), 1st baronet, brewer, politician, and philanthropist, was born 1 November 1798 in Dublin, third son of Arthur Guinness, head of the brewing firm Arthur Guinness & Co., and his wife, Anne, eldest daughter of Benjamin Lee of Dublin.…...
Jackson, Henry
Jackson, Henry (1750?–1817), iron founder and United Irishman, was the fourth son in the family of five sons and one daughter of Hugh Jackson (1710?–77) of Creeve, Co. Monaghan, and his wife, Eleanor (née Gault), who belonged to a family engaged in the linen trade, apparently…...
MacAdam, James
MacAdam, James (1801–61), manufacturer and geologist, was born in High Street, Belfast, the first child and the elder of two surviving sons of James MacAdam (1775–1821), merchant, and Jane MacAdam (née Shipboy) (1774–1827), a Belfast native. Two siblings died in infancy while a…...
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis)
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis) (1929–2015), nuclear scientist, rocket engineer, pilot and physician, was born 23 October 1929 at the family home at 5 Garville Road, Rathgar, Dublin, the eldest of three children (he had a sister, Marion, and a brother, John) born to Thomas Henry…...
Mulholland, Andrew
Mulholland, Andrew (1792–1866), textile manufacturer, was born 15 March 1792, probably in Belfast. His father, Thomas Mulholland, is believed to have been of humble origins and probably illiterate; he started as a dealer, and then invested in property. In 1784 he married Anne Doe…...
Ritchie, William
Ritchie, William (1756–1834), shipbuilder, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and had a shipbuilding practice at Saltcoats. In March 1791 he visited Belfast and, seeing the potential of the port, returned on 3 July 1791, with ten men, apparatus, materials, and his younger brother…...
Roe, Henry
Roe, Henry (1826–94), distiller and philanthropist, was born in Dublin, where his family had been involved in the distilling and brewing business since the 1750s and had acquired a seventeen-acre site off James's St. In 1863 Henry Roe, and his brother, George, inherited George Roe…...
Russell, John Norris
Russell, John Norris (1774?–1859), merchant and industrialist, was born in Limerick, second among five sons of Francis Russell, malt manufacturer and merchant, and his second wife Elizabeth Maunsell Norris, whose father was John Norris, merchant in Limerick. There were also two…...
Scott, William
Scott, William (1765–1858), shirt manufacturer, was born 12 March 1765 in the townland of Ballougry, in the Liberties of Derry city, the youngest of three sons of David Scott, a farmer, whose ancestors had held the farm since 1610. After a limited education, Scott was apprenticed to…...
Sinclair, John
This is a co-subject for the entry on Sinclair (Sinclaire), William. View the original entry....