John Orrell Lever
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Orrell Lever | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Galway Borough | |
| In office 1859–1865 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Nicholas Redington |
| In office 1880–1885 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1824 |
| Died | 4 August 1897 (aged 72–73) |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Dorning |
John Orrell Lever (1824 – 4 August 1897)[1] was an English shipping owner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1859 and 1885.
Lever was the eldest son of James Lever of Manchester, and the descendant of Sir Ashton Lever.[2] He was interested in railways and shipping, being a director of the South Wales Railway and the Atlantic Royal Mail Steam Navigation Co. He was responsible for establishing Galway as a packet-station. He was the sole lessee of the Thames and Channel Passenger Service and wrote several works.[3]
Lever had diverse business interests, including cotton, linen, and corn mills in Lancashire and Ireland, the exports of finished products from Liverpool, and especially steam shipping. During the Crimean War, he created several charter companies with Thomas Howard to ship soldiers and supplies to the war. This wartime activity led to a large profit. He and other investors established the Galway Line, a transatlantic shipping company. He considered establishing a transatlantic cable, but was unable to do so. Lever and his partners did successfully manage to lobby for several transatlantic mail contracts between Great Britain and Canada.[4]