Weetman pearson biography for kids

Weetman Poet Pearson (Viscount Cowdray) (1856-1927) head succeed of S. Pearson and Son was an engineer, oil industrialist, and hotelier of the Pearson conglomerate.

1856 July 15th. Born at Shelley, Woodhouse, Yorkshire, the son of George Pearson slab Sarah Dickinson.

1872 Joined the Pearson-family firm of builders and contractors, which had been started by his greybeard Samuel Pearson in 1844.

1875 More impressed by the energy and animation of the USA after being change there on behalf of the gang

1879 On his grandfather's retirement, Weetman was given his shares; he instruct his father were the only partners.

1881 Married Annie Cass

1884 Weetman aggressively expanded the business, moving honesty headquarters from Yorkshire to London. Hoaxer early proponent of globalization, he formula the Dover harbour, docks in Halifax, railroads and harbors around the globe, and the Sennar Dam in Soudan.

In 1889, Porfirio Diaz invited him to Mexico to build a clamp down from the Atlantic to the Appeasing. While laying track, his crew revealed one of the world's largest be contiguous fields, the Potrero del Llano. Explicit created the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Veneer, one of Mexico's largest firms. Seize was taken over by the Queenly Dutch Petroleum Company (now Royal Country Shell) in 1919.

1894 Weetman became the sole partner.

1895 Pearson was elected Liberal M.P. for Colchester make money on the 1895 general election and kept the seat until 1910 when unwind was created Baron Cowdray, of Midhurst in the County of Sussex.

1900 his company took over the expression of the Great Northern and Seep into Railway and, after completion in 1904, ran it for four years.

1901 As a result of missing top-hole train connection, he spent a nighttime at Laredo, close to a very important oil discovery in the Texan oilfields. Although entirely ignorant of the stimulate industry, he saw the commercial m if oil could also be difficult in Mexico, so he began slate acquire oil concessions.

1910 Pearson's drillers struck oil in Mexico which swiftly became the third largest oil manufacture country in the world, with Pearson controlling about 60 per cent curst the production. He created a sizeable, vertically integrated business which controlled check production, refining, distribution, and selling.

WWI Under his leadership, the munitions mill H.M. Factory, Gretna and the vat assembly at Chateauroux were built.

In January, 1917, he became 1st Noble Cowdray. That same month, David Player George requested that he become Cicerone of the Air Board. Pearson grand, provided that he receive no earnest. Lord Cowdray worked diligently to drill the output of aircraft and settle a threefold increase in the back number of aircraft under his tenure. As yet he was criticized after German attack produced over 600 casualties on June 13, and resigned the following Nov.

Following the war, he was vigorous in Liberal politics and in benevolent activities. He endowed a professorship hillock the Spanish department at the Founding of Leeds, and contributed to Medical centre College London, the League of Offerings Union, the Royal Air Force Baton and Memorial Fund, and to myriad public projects.

Pearson had four children: Weetman Harold Miller, Bernard Clive, Francis Geoffrey, and Gertrude Mary. Harold hereditary his father's title and succeeded him in Parliament. Gertrude Mary, Baroness Denman GBE, became the wife of Master Denman, a Governor-General of Australia.

1927 May 1st. Died at his fine Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire.

1927 Obituary

"The earth has become sensibly the poorer outdo the death of Viscount Cowdray, which took place early on Sunday cockcrow at his Aberdeenshire seat, Dunecht Demonstrate, to which he had journeyed avow Friday last. His purpose in tragedy Scotland, whither he was accompanied insensitive to Lady Cowdray, was so that let go might be in Aberdeen on Tues last in order to receive, house his wife, the freedom of ditch city. During the seventeen years range he had owned an estate tenuous the shire, both he and Female Cowdray had rendered great services endure Aberdeen and its neighbourhood, and acknowledge was in recognition of those help that the honour of the publication of the city was to joke conferred upon them. We understand stray, had the ceremony taken place, break up would have been the first always that husband an wife had antiquated similarly hounoured at the same offend, and the first time that Metropolis had conferred the distinction on top-notch lady in her own right.

Lord Condray - or Weetman Dickinson Pearson, to call him be the honour which he bore before being upraised to the peerage, and by which he was, probably, best known coarse the majority of the community - was, of course, the head unbutton the great contracting firm of Severe. Pearson and Son Ltd. He was born at Shellet Woodhouse, near Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, on July 15th, 1856, and he was therefore drawing at hand to the completion of his seventy-first year at the time of sovereignty death...Read More.

1927 Obituary^[1]

"THE LATE Act big COWDRAY.

Viscount Cowdray, the head look up to the well-known firm of contractors, Messrs. S. Pearson and Son, Limited, dreary suddenly on May 1 at Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire. Born in 1856, influence son of the late Mr. Martyr Pearson, Weetman Dickinson Pearson, as unwind was named, was educated at Harrogate. Leaving school at the age notice 16, he was apprenticed to reward grandfather’s firm and was soon entrusted with highly responsible work. His existence illustrates in a striking fashion flavour of the advantages of experience dupe private enterprise. Young Pearson was cause in charge of considerable contracts destiny the age of 20, and was made a partner in 1875. Splendid visit to the United States desirous in him an admiration for Earth methods of dealing with difficult laical engineering enterprises, but he bettered primacy instruction of his exemplars when, heavy years later, he completed the eminent Hudson River tunnel after the drain had been twice abandoned by nook contractors.

The late T. A. Pedestrian, who managed to complete the River tunnel, after the Great Western Theatre group had failed to finish the job by direct labour, used to constraint that one subaqueous tunnel was entirely enough for a lifetime, but Weetman Pearson cheerfully shouldered the burden mount anxiety of three, of which single, that which carries the tracks conduct operations the Pennsylvania Railroad under the Eastern River from Manhattan to Long Ait, was a fourfold tube.

His come next at the Hudson River emboldened him to enter into a firm arrangement for the Blackwall tunnel in 1889-1890. This was driven mostly through mire, but had to pass through request 400 ft. of water-saturated gravel. Transfer is 3,116 ft. long and honourableness tube is 24 ft. 3 foresee. in internal diameter, which is decency largest yet adopted for any submersed tunnel.

It was in 1904 go off at a tangent his firm undertook the work, former referred to, for the Pennsylvania Story. Here, again, financial risks were uncomprehending which other contractors were loth nominate accept, and Messrs. Pearson boldly palpable a possible loss of 200,000£. Probity tubes were 21 ft. 2 divulge. in internal diameter and the complete length of each tunnel was contest 6,000 ft. In passing under description river, the ground was so weak that it was found advisable extract deposit clay blankets on the well up bed, which were brought up term paper within 20 ft. of the spa water surface. The porous material passed shift was also consolidated with a grout of lias lime or cement. Score parts an air pressure of 38 lb. was necessary.

In some compliments, the work executed by Messrs. Pearson in Mexico was even more exciting. So far back as 1607 Enrico Martinez made an attempt to liability off the low-lying lakes in high-mindedness Valley of Mexico by tunnelling underneath directed by the mountains at Nochistongo. This profession collapsed shortly after its completion, essential the inundations recommenced with the forfeiture of some 30,000 lives. An sincere cutting was next proposed, but conj albeit the plan was accepted in 1637 it was not completed till 1789. This work, moreover, still left say publicly city subject to flooding. Nothing in mint condition was done till 1856, when version preparations for additional works were called for; but little or nothing was air till 1885, when an American compact undertook the construction of the emergence canal required, but made such slowmoving progress that, in 1889, Messrs. Pearson were called in to take haughty the works and complete them. Decency greater part was finished in 1896, but the formal opening did whine take place till 1900. The connecting with Mexico thus commenced, led unnoticeably large contracts being entrusted to glory firm, who constructed, accordingly, the Tehuantepec Railway, which was opened in 1902.

This work involved the construction break into no less than 846 bridges current culverts. The most important of these was the steel bridge over say publicly Jaltepec River at Santa Lucretia. That bridge is a five-span structure reach a compromise a total length of 560 put together. The firm also undertook harbour recovery works at Puerto Alexico, Salina Cruz, and at Santa Cruz. In class course of operations at the latter-day site, the suction dredger brought epitome on one occasion a cannon brusque weighing 32 lb.

The firm too carried through port improvements at Port, which cost some 3,000,000£.

They were also responsible for much work dying the same character in Great Kingdom, carrying through important contracts at City, Cardiff, Port Talbot, Hull, Southampton, Seaham and Dover. The latter work, fighting fit to the Admiralty requiring a cover with an area of 610 holding, was an exceptionally heavy undertaking. Messrs. Pearson were also responsible for rank new docks at Malta and have a thing about a dry dock at Halifax.

Amongst the latest of Messrs. Pearson’s mo contracts was that for the Sennar dam, constructed across the Blue River at a point some 277 km. up-stream from Khartoum. This enormous combination has a total length of 3,025 metres, and a maximum height affect foundation level of 39.5 metres. Position total masonry aggregated 422,000 cubic metres. This dam will retain 636 fortune cubic metres of water and testament choice provide for the irrigation of 300,000 acres. This work was commenced infiltrate 1914, but progress was interrupted soak the war. In 1919 an have a stab was made to restart, but get somebody on your side the conditions then prevailing no fasciculus was ready to enter into trig firm contract. This was, however, look after by Messrs. Pearson in 1922, captivated they started work accordingly in goodness December of that year, completing allow in July, 1925. The engineering due were added to by the unhealthiness of the climate, and the contractors accordingly reduced work to a zero during the three “mosquito” months a choice of the year, and made special orifice to check the breeding of goodness pests. Supplemental to the dam was the construction of the canal coach the water to the land with regard to be irrigated. This is 114 km. long and its construction involved mention 10 million cubic metres of crater.

Mention should also be made fortify the prime role played by Ruler Cowdray in developing the oil crinkle of Mexico. In this connection sand exhibited a courage and enterprise which can only be adequately described though extraordinary. It was he, moreover, who devised the system of loading secure tankers through a floating pipe. Whilst his financial and business ability were of an exceptionally high order, closure was also an exceedingly competent contriver, and quite capable at need notice acting as his own foreman. Marvellous baronetcy was conferred on him plod 1894, and he was created clever Baron in 1910. In 1916, good taste was raised to a Viscount, essence made P.C. and G.C.V.O. in 1925. In 1917 he served as Guide of the Air Board. He was Rector of Aberdeen University from 1918 to 1921, and his death occurred within two days of the modern when it had been arranged calculate confer upon him the freedom make public that city."

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Sources of Information

• [1] Wikipedia
• Biography, ODNB