William Henry Smith. Bookseller and politician. The son in "W. H. Smith and Son". He introduced the W. H. Smith stalls at railway stations and the business thrived. Entered politics in 1868. Appointed First Lord of the Admiralty when he had little naval experience and so thought to be the model for Sir Joseph (ruler-of-the-Queen's-Nav-ee) Porter in Gilbert & Sullivan's 'H.M.S. Pinafore'. Promoted the Baconian Theory, the idea that Francis Bacon wrote the plays commonly attributed to Shakespeare. Father of Lord Hambleden.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
W. H. Smith
Commemorated ati
W. H. Smith - W2
London County Council W. H. Smith, 1825 - 1891, bookseller and statesman, li...
Other Subjects
Charles Jellicoe
Co-executor, with Edwin Bedford, to Mary Gray Ratray who died in 1873. Lived and/or worked at 12 Cavendish Place. In the Madras Catholic Directory and General Annual Register for the Year of our L...
Castle Tavern - EC2
Being at a junction the address has been given as 26 King Street which certainly is more definitive than the Gresham Street address which seems to have fluctuated widely. Pubwiki gives: "in the 184...
Bella Burge
Bella was married to boxer (and bank robber, see OldTimeMusicHall) Dick Burge. They took on the lease of the Surrey Chapel, an ex-chapel which had become a boxing ring in 1910. Renamed "The Ring"...
Royal Opera Arcade
Designed by John Nash, completed in 1816-18, considered to be London's oldest existing arcade having survived a fire, dereliction and the blitz. See Her Majesty's Theatre for the history of the bui...