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George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-04327)
Born:
May 10, 1850, Glasgow, Scotland
Died:
October 2, 1931, London, England
Also Known As:
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet
Thomas Liptonwas a British merchant who built the Lipton tea empire and also won fame as a yachtsman.
Lipton, whose Irish parents ran a small grocery, immigrated to the United States in 1865. After five years at various jobs, he returned to Glasgow and opened a small provision shop, whose success led him to open other shops throughout the United Kingdom. To supply his retail shops on the most favourable terms, Lipton purchased extensive tea, coffee, and cocoa plantations in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and provided his own packinghouse for hogs in Chicago. He also acquired fruit farms, jam factories, bakeries, and bacon-curing establishments in England. In 1898 his business was organized into Lipton, Ltd. He was knighted in the same year and in 1902 was created a baronet.
A keen yachtsman, Lipton raced his Shamrock yachts five times unsuccessfully for the America’s Cup between 1899 and 1930. Hailed as “the best of all losers,” he was awarded a special cup for his repeated failures, and the publicity of his attempts helped his tea gain popularity in the States.
