Discover Notts > Famous people > Founders & businessmen George Africanus
Born in Sierra Leone, and brought to England in slavery aged three, George Africanus went on to become Nottingham's first black entrepreneur founding the Africanus' Register of Servants - a servant agency, and Watch & Ward. His wife Esther opened a milliners business on the same premises. George bought adjacent land and gained the rent from three houses built on it. Having now met all the qualifications to be a Freeman, George was eligible to vote in elections in Nottingham. George John Scipio Africanus died in 1834, aged 71 years, and is buried in St Mary's Church, Nottingham. Sir Jesse Boot
Sir Jesse Boot (1850-1931) transformed a small herbal store into the powerful pharmaceutical giant 'Boots The Chemist'. He lived in Hockley, which in 19th century Nottingham was a poor area. His famous quote "Cheap drugs would be dear if they were cheap and nasty. Nasty to the palate many drugs are bound to be; but worse is the nastiness of bad quality." In recognition of his work and extreme generosity to the city, Boot was presented with the Freedom of the City of Nottingham in 1920. He was also knighted in 1909, received a baronetcy in 1916, and in the New Years Honours of 1929, was elevated to the peerage as the first Lord Trent of Nottingham. General William Booth
Sneinton born William Booth (1829 - 1912) worked as an apprentice in a pawnbroker's shop in Nottingham from the age of 13. He became increasingly aware of the poverty in which people lived. He and his wife founded the East London Christian Mission in 1865. Their aim was to help meet the spiritual and material needs of the poor. The Mission became known as The Salvation Army in 1878. Sir Frank Bowden
Industrialist Frank Bowden (1829-1912) was told in 1887 that he had only months to live. He followed the advice of his doctor who told him to take up cycling to save his life. Bowden went to Raleigh Street, where he found 12 men in a small workshop producing three cycles a week. He decided to buy the workshop and the Raleigh Cycle Company was founded. John Player
John Player was the son of a solicitor. In 1877 he took over a tobacconist's in Broad Marsh, and conceived the idea of selling pre-packaged branded tobacco. By 1881 he needed three new factory blocks so purchased additional land in Radford. Less than a hundred years later Player's company was making a third of Britain's cigarettes. Today the old "lace factory" on the Radford site is dwarfed by the branch's modern factories. William Lee
William Lee, the inventor of the knitting frame was born around 1563/64 in Calverton. After a Cambridge education, he returned to Nottinghamshire to became curate at the parish church of St. Wilfrid's. He produced his first frame in 1589. When he failed to secure a patent from Queen Elizabeth I, he took his invention to France. Sadly he died in relative obscurity around 1612. William's brother James brought the frames back from France and started the manufacture of silk and woollen stockings. Even though William Lee wasn't there to see it, his invention was destined to welcome in the modern hosiery industry. Gunn & Moore William Gunn (1858 - 1921) and Thomas James Moore (1851 - 1901) founded the Gunn & Moore company which has been making bats from English willow in Nottingham since 1885. William was a well-renowned cricketer (and footballer!) and Thomas Moore was a businessman, working his way up from being a shopkeeper to being a "sporting requirements manufacturer" (as he described himself in the 1901 Census). The company also supplies a variety of other goods for cricketers including gloves, pads, balls, helmets, bodyguards, clothing and footwear. National and international cricketers sponsored by Gunn & Moore include Steve Harmison, Brendon McCullum, Jonty Rhodes, Marcus Trescothick, and Michael Vaughn. William's nephew, George Gunn (1879-1958) was also a famous cricketer. He played for Nottinghamshire and was a right hand bat and right arm bowler from Hucknall Torkard. Capital for learning | Famous people | Nottingham history | Interesting facts | The Dukeries | Postcards | Virtual tours | Videos | Souvenirs | Nottingham hotels | UK family holidays | Nottingham bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) | Nottingham holiday cottages |
