William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield

The Viscount Nuffield
Viscount Nuffield, of Nuffield, in the County of Oxford
wife	Elizabeth Anstey
Full name William Richard Morris
Father	Frederick Morris
Mother	Emily Ann Pether
Born	10 October 1877 Worcester, England
Died	22 August 1963 (aged 85) Nuffield, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation	Motor manufacturer and philanthropist Founder of Nuffield Foundation Nuffield College, Oxford Morris Motors

William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE CH FRS (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963), known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Trust and Nuffield College, Oxford. He took his title, Lord Nuffield, from the village of Nuffield, Oxfordshire where he lived.

Morris was born in 1877 at 47 Comer Gardens, a terraced house in the Comer Gardens area of Worcester, about 2 miles (3 km) north-west of the centre of Worcester, England. He was the son of Frederick Morris and his wife Emily Ann, daughter of Richard Pether. When he was three years old his family moved to 16 James Street, Oxford.

Upon leaving school at the age of 15 Morris was apprenticed to a local bicycle-seller and repairer. Nine months later, after his employer refused him a pay increase, aged 16 he set up a business repairing bicycles in a shed at the back of his parents' house. This business being a success he opened a shop at 48 High Street and began to assemble as well as repair bicycles, labelling his product with a gilt cycle wheel and The Morris. Morris raced his own machines competing as far away as south London. He did not confine himself to one distance or time and at one point was champion of Oxford (City and County), Berkshire and Buckinghamshire for distances varying between one and fifty miles.

He began to work with motorcycles in 1901, designing the Morris Motor Cycle, and in 1902 acquired buildings in Longwall Street from which he repaired bicycles, operated a taxi service, sold, repaired and hired cars. He held the agency for Arrol-Johnston, Belsize, Humber, Hupmobile, Singer, Standard and Wolseley cars. In 1910 he built new premises in Longwall Street - described by a local newspaper as The Oxford Motor Palace - changed his business's name from The Oxford Garage to The Morris Garage and still had to take more premises in Queen Street. The Longwall Street site was redeveloped in 1980, retaining the original frontage, and is now used as student accommodation by New College.