Thomas Wilson (1792–1869) was a 19th-century shipping magnate from Kingston upon Hull, England. In 1822, Wilson jointly founded Thomas Wilson Sons & Co., commonly known as the Wilson Line, a shipping company.
Thomas Wilson founded Beckington, Wilson and Company in 1822 as a joint venture with his partner John Beckinton and two others. He did not come to the business with a background in shipping but through the use of ships for shipping of ore he quickly saw the potential opportunity and became a noted specialist shipowner. By 1825 he owned his first steam ship and saw the company become a prominent figure in promoting the Port of Hull to the third largest port in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the emergence and rise of steam shipping in Britain.
In 1841, Thomas Wilson took full control of the company, after the other partners left, and so he brought his eldest son David into the business as his partner, making the name Thomas Wilson & Son Ltd. In 1850 his other sons Charles and Arthur joined and became active partners, the name changing to Thomas Wilson & Sons Co Ltd, though usually known as the Wilson Line of Hull.
Thomas died in 1869 and the company was taken over by Charles and Arthur, with David as silent partner. A few years later when they were beginning to question their own sons ability to continue running the firm, Charles and Arthur brought in a non-family member to become the new Managing Director, Oswald Sanderson. Parts of the company merged with the North Eastern Railway forming Wilson's & North Eastern Railway Shipping Co. Ltd; the majority was acquired in 1916 by Sir John Ellerman and renamed Ellerman's Wilson Line.
Thomas was the son of David Wilson (1745–1810) and Elizabeth ( née Gray; born c. 1750). He married Susannah West (1796–1879), the daughter of John West and Grace Harrop, at Drypool, Yorkshire, on 1 September 1814. They had 13 children:
Joseph Malet Lambert (1853–1931) was vicar of St. John's parish, Hull, UK, later elevated to Dean of Hull, Canon of York, and Archdeacon of the East Riding within the Church of England.
Sir Hugh Allan was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the world. He was responsible for transporting millions of British immigrants to Canada, and the businesses that he established from Montreal filtered across every sphere of Canadian life, cementing his reputation as an empire builder. His home, Ravenscrag, was the principal residence of the Golden Square Mile in Montreal.
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). King George V bestowed the title of "Merchant Navy" on the British merchant shipping fleets following their service in the First World War; a number of other nations have since adopted the title. Previously it had been known as the Mercantile Marine or Merchant Service, although the term "Merchant Navy" was already informally used from the 19th century.
Earl Peel is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peel family descends from Robert Peel, eldest son of a wealthy cotton merchant. The family lands, known as Drayton Manor, in the County of Stafford would become more commonly known in modern-day as an amusement park. The family seat is Elmire House, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.
The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade.
Thomas Parry was a Welsh merchant based in India. He was instrumental in establishing a trading company in Madras, India. Parry joined John William Dare to establish Parry & Dare in 1819 and this later became EID Parry company whose building gives the name of Parry's Corner, a well-known central business district of Chennai.
Ellerman Lines was a UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller shipping lines until it became one of the largest shipping firms in the World. Setbacks occurred through heavy losses to its merchant fleet in the First and Second World Wars but were overcome in each case.
Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 1st Baronet, CH was an English shipowner and investor, believed to be the richest man in England. An accountant by training, he learned to identify underpriced companies and acquired them, often as sole stakeholder. His shipping interests were combined into the giant Ellerman Lines, and he also invested in newspapers, breweries, coal and prestige London property. Despite his huge wealth, his personal life was notably modest and private.
Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was a British shipping company, founded in 1840, It evolved from a joint venture formed by merchants Thomas Wilson, John Beckinton and two unrelated partners named Hudson in 1822.
Oswald Sanderson was an English businessman, best known for his involvement in the Wilson Line of Hull and later the Ellerman Wilson Line.
Arthur Wilson was a prominent English ship-owner who is best known for playing host to his friend Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, at his home Tranby Croft, the scene of the royal baccarat scandal.
Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme, was a prominent English shipowner who became head of the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipping business.
Charles Henry Wellesley Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme, CB, DSO,, was a British peer, and one of the heirs to the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co., a Hull-based shipping company that built a near-monopoly over affordable travel packages from Scandinavia and the Baltic. He was an officer in the Volunteers and saw active service in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the later war he was distinguished for the number of new units that he recruited for the war effort, notably the 'Hull Pals'.
SS Thurso was a cargo steamship operated by Ellerman's Wilson Line. Thurso was built in 1919 by S. P. Austin & Sons in Sunderland as the War Bramble for the Shipping Controller. Displacing 2,436 tons she had a speed of 9 knots. She was sold to Ellerman Lines while still building and remained with them until lost in the Second World War.
Port Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company, initially formed as the Commonwealth and Dominion Line in 1914, and in operation in one form or another until 1982.
Andrew Allan was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman and financier. In 1882, he succeeded his brother, Sir Hugh Allan, of Ravenscrag, in the Allan family's Canadian enterprises that were centred on the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers, but also included banking and railways. He was Master of Foxhounds for the Montreal Hunt.
Associated Humber Lines (AHL) was created in 1935 to manage the services of various railway controlled shipping lines including port activities in the Humber area of the United Kingdom. The ownership of the respective vessels did not transfer to A.H.L and similarly the ports concerned, Hull, Goole and Grimsby, also remained under the control of the railway companies and their successors.
Wilson's & North Eastern Railway Shipping Co. Ltd was formed in March 1906 in England by the family who controlled Wilson Line of Hull and the North Eastern Railway Company.
The Hull & Netherlands Steamship Co. Ltd. was formed in 1894 and brought together the shipping operations of CL Ringrose and WHH Hutchinson with the intention of concentrating their shipping services to that specific area of operation.
John West Wilson was a businessman and arts patron.