William Henry Smith. Bookseller and politician. The son in "W. H. Smith and Son". He introduced the W. H. Smith stalls at railway stations and the business thrived. Entered politics in 1868. Appointed First Lord of the Admiralty when he had little naval experience and so thought to be the model for Sir Joseph (ruler-of-the-Queen's-Nav-ee) Porter in Gilbert & Sullivan's 'H.M.S. Pinafore'. Promoted the Baconian Theory, the idea that Francis Bacon wrote the plays commonly attributed to Shakespeare. Father of Lord Hambleden.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
W. H. Smith
Commemorated ati
W. H. Smith - W2
London County Council W. H. Smith, 1825 - 1891, bookseller and statesman, li...
Other Subjects
Stakis PLC
Hotel group founded in the 1960s by Reo Stakis. They bought Caxton Hall in 1986, intending to develop it as offices and flats, but by the time they were given approval, the property market had cras...
1 memorial
1 memorial
Bagnigge House
The house was built on the site of the, supposedly holy, Bagnigge Wells (mineral springs) in 1678. Nell Gwynne was supposed to have lived in this house. The picture shows the house c. 1790. In th...
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Fountains Abbey pub
Sir Alexander Fleming was a loyal regular. Legend says that it was mould spores from this ale house which blew through Fleming’s window, leading him to the discovery of Penicillin in 1928. The Fo...
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John Pierpont Morgan
International banker and philanthropist. Inherited a fortune from his father Junius S. Morgan and then made so much more that his wealth was only exceeded by John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie...
1 memorial
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