William Colgate
| William Colgate | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
January 25, 1783 Hollingbourne, Kent, Great Britain |
| Died | March 25, 1857 (aged 74) New York City, New York, United States |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | Naturalized American |
| Occupation | Manufacturer, philanthropist |
| Known for | Founded Colgate soap company |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Gilbert (married 1811) |
| Children |
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William Colgate (January 25, 1783 – March 25, 1857) was an English manufacturer who founded in 1806 what became the Colgate toothpaste company.
William Colgate was born in Hollingbourne, Kent, England, on January 25, 1783. He was the son of Robert Colgate and his wife Sarah (née Bowles).
Robert Colgate (1758–1826) was an 18th-century English farmer, politician and sympathiser with the American War of Independence and French Revolution, whose republican ideals impelled him to leave their farm in Shoreham, Kent in March 1798 and emigrate to Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States of America, after which the family settled on a farm in Harford County, Maryland. Colgate formed a partnership with Ralph Maher to manufacture soap and candles, and William helped the two men, but the partnership dissolved after two years.
William Colgate came to New York City in 1804. He there obtained employment as an apprentice to a soap-boiler, and learned the business. Young as he was, he showed even then that quickness of observation, which distinguished him later in life. He closely watched the methods practiced by his employer, noting what seemed to him to be mismanagement, and learned useful lessons for his own guidance. At the close of his apprenticeship he was enabled, by correspondence with dealers in other cities, to establish himself in the business with some assurance of success. William established a starch, soap and candle business in Manhattan, on Dutch Street in 1806. In 1820, he started a starch factory across the Hudson in Jersey City, leading to a long involvement of the company in Jersey City.
William followed his goal of prosperity through life, and became one of the most prosperous men in the city of New York. This circumstance, together with his great wisdom in counsel, and his readiness to aid in all useful and practicable enterprises, gave him a wide influence in the community, and especially in the denomination of which he was from early life an active and honored member.
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