Biography of William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme 1851-1925

Before 19 Sep 1851 [his father] James Lever (age 41) and [his mother] Eliza Hesketh (age 29) were married.

On 19 Sep 1851 William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme was born to James Lever (age 41) and Eliza Hesketh (age 29).

On 17 Apr 1874 William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 22) and Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme (age 23) were married.

On 25 Mar 1888 [his son] William Lever 2nd Viscount Leverhulme was born to William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 36) and [his wife] Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme (age 37).

In 1893 [his mother] Eliza Hesketh (age 71) died.

1897. Luke Fildes (age 53). Portrait of William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 45).

On 25 May 1897 [his father] James Lever (age 87) died.

1900. Marble bust of William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 48) by Edward Onslow Ford (age 47). In the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map].

Christ Church, Port Sunlight [Map] was built between 1902 and 1904, and was designed by William and Segar Owen. The church was paid for by William Lever (age 52). It was opened on 08 Jun 1904. In 1914 the Lever family vault was added as a memorial to the memory of [his wife] Lady Lever (age 53).

The London Gazette 28566. Whitehall, December 28, 1911. Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the creation of the undermentioned Baronets:

Sir William Thornley Stoker, Baronet, of Hatch-street, in the city of Dublin, Doctor of Medicine, Master of Surgery (Honoris Causa), Fellow of the Royal Col lege of Surgeons in Ireland, and some time President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland;

Sir Robert Anderson, Baronet, of Park mount, in the county of the city of Bel fast, and of Mullaghmore, in the county of Monaghan;

Sir Charles Bent Ball, Baronet, of Merrion Square, in the city of Dublin, and of Killybegs, in the county of Donegal, Master in Surgery, and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland;

Sir Boverton Redwood, Baronet, of Avenue road, in the metropolitan borough of St. Marylebone;

Sir John Henry Bethell, Baronet, of Park House, in the parish of Wanstead, in the county of Essex;

Sir Edward Beauchamp (age 62), Baronet, of Grosvenor Place, in the city of Westminster;

Sir Henry Trentham Butlin, Baronet, of Harley-street, in the metropolitan borough of St. Marylebone, Doctor of Medicine, and late President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England;

Sir Edward Feetham Coates, Baronet, of Helperby Hall, Helperby, in the parish of Brafferton, in the North Riding of the county of York, Major (retired), Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, 3rd Battalion;

Sir Nugent Talbot Everard, Baronet, of Randlestown, in the county of Meath, His Majesty's Lieutenant of the said county, late Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel Commandant and Honorary Colonel Fifth Battalion the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment;

Sir James Frederic Goodhart, Baronet, of Portland Place, in the raetropolitaai borough of St. Marylebone, and of Holtye, in the county of Sussex, Doctor of Medi cine, and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London;

Sir Arthur Adlington Haworth, Baronet, of Dunham Massey, in the county of Chester;

Sir John Bowen Bowen-Jones, Baronet, of St. Mary's Court, in the borough of Shrewsbury;

Sir Herbert Samuel Leon, Baronet, of Bletchley Park, in the parish of Bletchley, in the county of Buckingham;

Sir William Hesketh Lever (age 60), Baronet, of Thornton Manor, in the parish of Thorn ton Hough, in the county of Chester; [[his wife] Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme (age 61) by marriage Lady Lever of Thornton Manor in Cheshire.]

Sir John Brownlee Lonsdale, Baronet, of Prince's Gardens, in the Royal borough of Kensington, and of The Pavilion, in the city and county of Armagh;

Sir Charles Tertius Mander, Baronet, of The Mount, in the parish of Tettenhall, in the county of Stafford;

Sir Arthur Basil Markham, Baronet, of Beachborough Park, in the parish of Newington, in the county of Kent;

Sir William Osier, Baronet, of Norham Gardens, in the city of Oxford, Regius Professor of Medicine of the University of Oxford and Fellow of the Royal Society;

Sir George Younger, Baronet, of Leckie, in the county of Stirling;

Sir Gustavus Francis William Lambart, Baronet, C.V.O., of Beau Pare, in the county of Meath, Major and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (retired), 5th Batta lion, The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regi ment, Secretary of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick;

Sir Charles Garden Assheton-Smith, Baronet, of Vaynol Park, in the parish of Bangor, in the county of Carnarvon.

On 13 Apr 1912 [his son] William Lever 2nd Viscount Leverhulme (age 24) and [his daughter-in-law] Marion Beatrice Smith Viscountess Leverhulme (age 25) were married.

On 24 Jul 1913 [his wife] Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme (age 62) died. She was buried at Christ Church, Port Sunlight [Map].

The London Gazette 30150. Whitehall, June 26, 1917. The KING has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal-of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to confer the dignity of a Baron of the said United Kingdom upon Sir William Hesketh Lever (age 65), Baronet, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style and title of Baron Leverhulme, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. [[his former wife] Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme by marriage Baroness Leverhulme of Bolton le Moors in Lancashire.]

The Lady Lever Art Gallery [Map] is a museum founded and built by the industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 70) and opened in 1922.

The London Gazette 32776. Whitehall, December 9, 1922. Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland creating the undermentioned Earldoms, Viscountcies and Baronies:

The Right Honourable Frederick Edwin (age 50), Viscount Birkenhead, to be Viscount Furneaux, of Charlton, in the County of Northampton, and Earl Of Birkenhead. [Margaret Eleanor Furneaux Countess of Birkenhead (age 44) by marriage Countess Birkenhead.]

The Right Honourable Horace Brand (age 78), Viscount Farquhar, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., late Lord Steward of the Household, to be Earl Farquhar.


The Right Honourable Arthur Hamilton, Baron Lee of Fareham, G.B.E., K.C.B., to be Viscount Lee of Fareham, of Bridport, in the County of Dorset.

William Hesketh (age 71), Baron Leverhulme, to be Viscount Leverhulme, of The Western Isles, in the Counties of Inverness and Ross and Cromarty. [[his former wife] Elizabeth Ellen Hulme Viscountess Leverhulme by marriage Viscountess Leverhulme of the Western Isles.]

The Right Honourable Francis Bingham Mildmay to be Baron Mildmay Of Flete, of Totnes, in the County of Devon.

The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Paton Maclay, Baronet, to be Baron Maclay, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark.

The Right Honourable Sir Edward Alfred Goulding, Baronet, to be Baron Wargrave, of Wargrave Hall, in the County of Berks. Sir John Henry Bethell, Baronet, to be BARON BETHELL, of Romford, in the County of Essex.

On 07 May 1925 William Lever 1st Viscount Leverhulme (age 73) died. He was buried at Christ Church, Port Sunlight [Map]. His son [his son] William Lever 2nd Viscount Leverhulme (age 37) succeeded 2nd Viscount Leverhulme of the Western Isles, 2nd Baron Leverhulme of Bolton le Moors in Lancashire, 2nd Baronet Lever of Thornton Manor in Cheshire. [his daughter-in-law] Marion Beatrice Smith Viscountess Leverhulme (age 38) by marriage Viscountess Leverhulme of the Western Isles.

Marion Beatrice Smith Viscountess Leverhulme: On 06 Jul 1886 she was born to Bryce Smith. On 13 Apr 1912 William Lever 2nd Viscount Leverhulme and she were married. In 1936 William Lever 2nd Viscount Leverhulme and Marion Beatrice Smith Viscountess Leverhulme were divorced. On 30 Aug 1987 she died.

Leverhulme Memorial, Port Sunlight [Map]. Unveiled 13 Sep 1930 by Thomas Peacock, a veteran employee of Lever Brothers. Sculptor William Reid Dick. Built by John Stubbs and Son.

Leverhulme 1851-1925 to the honoured memory of William Hesketh first Viscount Leverhulme founder of Lever Brothers Limited and of Port Sunlight. A man remarkable for his business ability. His public benefactions and his love of beauty and art. This monument is erected by his fellow workers.

The figures at the base of the memorial symbolise the three great interests in the life of the founder of Port Sunlight industry, education and charity in its widest meaning the figure at the top of the column represents 'Inspiration' the foundation of all human progress