George White (businessman)
| Sir George White, 1st Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 March 1854 Kingsdown, Bristol |
| Died | 22 November 1916 Stoke Bishop |
| Residence | Stoke Bishop |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Transportation |
| Years active | 1869-1916 |
| Home town | Bristol |
| Title | Knight of the Realm |
| Spouse(s) | Caroline Thomas |
Sir George White, 1st Baronet (1854–1916) was an English businessman and stockbroker based in Bristol. He was instrumental in the construction of the Bristol tramways and became a pioneer in the construction of electric tramways in England. In 1910 he formed, with his brother Samuel, the Bristol Aeroplane Company. He had many other interests, particularly in transport companies.
White was born in Kingsdown, Bristol on 38 June 1654, the son of James White, a painter and decorator and his mother, Eliza had been a domestic servant before marrying. He attended St Michaels Boys' School, and in 1869 joined a Bristol firm of solicitors Stanley & Wasbrough as a junior clerk. In 1874 White's firm was involved in the promotion of the Bristol Tramways Company, following the passage of the Tramways Act 1870, and White played a major part. In 1875, he left the law, and established a stockbroking firm, George White & Co.
In 1875 White was working with some of the richest and most influential men in Bristol. William Butler was the chairman of the Bristol Tramways Company who had already made a fortune in tar-distilling. Wholesaler Henry Gale Gardner and coal magnate Joseph Wethered were also on the board, and George White became the part-time secretary of the Bristol Tramways Company at a salary of £150 per annum. Over the next ten years, White grew his stockbroking firm, using money borrowed from Henry Gale Gardner's wagon-building company and working on behalf of the wealthy contacts he had already made including Stuckey's Bank.
White continued to become more prominent in the Bristol Tramways Company. The 1880s saw the tramway network in Bristol grow and demand for more growth was abundant. George White maintained a good public profile and worked the local press so that the working class districts of Bristol would see the benefits the trams would give them. In Clifton, a more affluent area, it was feared that the trams would bring in undesirable visitors and depress property values, resulting in the Clifton route being served only by horse omnibuses. In 1892 he also became involved in the Imperial Tramways Company, which operated horse trams in Middlesbrough, Dublin, Gloucester and Reading, the Corris Railway and, from 1894, London United Tramways, which operated horse trams in west London.
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