William Bower Forwood
| Sir William Bower Forwood | |
|---|---|
| Born |
21 January 1840 Edge Hill, Liverpool, England |
| Died | 23 March 1928 (aged 88) Funchal, Madeira |
| Resting place | Windermere Cemetery, Rayrigg Road, Windermere, Cumbria |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Liverpool Collegiate, Pestalozzian school, Worksop, Derbyshire |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Miles Moss Elizabeth le Fleming |
| Children | Three sons, seven daughters |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Brittain Forwood Charlotte Bower |
| Relatives | Sir Arthur Forwood, brother |
Sir William Bower Forwood KBE DL (21 January 1840 – 23 March 1928) was an English merchant, shipowner and politician. He was a wealthy businessman and a local politician in Liverpool who raised money for the building of the Liverpool Overhead Railway and Liverpool Cathedral.
Forwood was born in Edge Hill, Liverpool, the second son of Thomas Brittain Forwood, a Liverpool merchant, and Charlotte née Bower. He was educated at Liverpool Collegiate and at a Pestalozzian school in Worksop. He joined the family business in 1859 and, when his father retired from it on 22 November 1862, ran it with his elder brother, Arthur. This was when the cotton trade was being disrupted by the American Civil War. The brothers made a fortune "first from wartime speculation and blockade running, and then from exploiting telegraph and cotton futures".
The brothers set up offices in New York City, New Orleans and Bombay and ran a small fleet of ships that traded in the West Indies, Costa Rica and New York. William entered politics in 1868 when he was elected to Liverpool Town Council, serving on it for over 40 years, and was a JP for Lancashire from 1882. He was president of the American chamber of commerce in 1872 and of its Liverpool equivalent in 1871 and 1878–81, became president of the Liverpool Cotton Association.
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