John Holt (businessman)

John Holt
An oil painting of John Holt by John A. A. Berrie
Born	31 October 1841 Garthorpe, Lincolnshire, England
Died	22 June 1915 (Age 73)
Residence	Lincolnshire
Occupation	Merchant
Known for	Founder of shipping company John Holt plc

John Holt (31 October 1841 - 22 June 1915) was an English merchant, who founded a shipping line operating between Liverpool and West Africa, and a number of businesses in Nigeria, which are now incorporated in John Holt plc.

Holt was born in Garthorpe, Lincolnshire in 1841.

In 1862, with £27 in his pocket, he sailed from Liverpool to take up an appointment as a shop assistant in a grocery store in Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea). Five years later, he bought out his employer, and he was joined by his brother Jonathan, and the two brothers expanded their business interests in West Africa, forming a partnership, John Holt and Company, in 1884, and a company, John Holt & Co. (Liverpool) Ltd, in 1897.

John Holt was also the co-founder of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and in 1903 The Mary Kingsley Medal was instituted by John Holt and is awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of tropical medicine, it is named in honour of Mary Kingsley

In 1910 he retired after a severe stroke to his home at Broughton Grange, Lincolnshire, where he died in 1915.