William Henry Smith (b. July 7, 1792, London, United Kingdom; d. July 28, 1865, London, United Kingdom) was an entrepreneur whose business was about both newsagents and book shops. He ran his business in London of the 1800s.
After finding success with his family business — especially in commercializing at London's railway stations by many shops — he seeded the contemporary WH Smith Co.
Early life
W. H. Smith's father was William Walton Smith. He was descendant of a Smith family whose ancestors were Irish. Walton's particular branch stemmed also from Walton, Somerset — which is the origin of his unusual fore name. His relatives were aristocrats by the Viscounts of Hambledon. Originally, Walton Smith was an employee at an antique house.
In 1784, Walton Smith married Anna Eastaugh. She was a humble maid at a house which was near St. Paul's Cathedral. By this reason, Walton Smith lost his inheritance rights from his noble family.
Nonetheless, in 1792 they ventured together into a newsagent business, at London's The Strand. It took the H. W. Smith name.
In that same year, W. H. Smith was born and he was baptized on August 6. Already he had two brothers: Henry Edward who was born 1787 and Mary Anne who was born in 1789. Tragically, Walton Smith died just two weeks later.
H. W. Smith (1789 to 1816)
After Walton Smith's death, Anna took over the business reins and also she added the selling of stationery items. Also she associated with Zaccheus Coates until he died in 1812. Then, together with Anna the control of the business which was valuated at £1,280 was jointly taken by both male brothers, Henry Edward Smith and William Henry Smith.
H. & W. Smith (1816) - W. H. Smith (1828)
In 1816, Anna died and the business was equally divided between the two brothers. Thus, the company was renamed H. & W. Smith. Still it was operating as both news vendor and stationery seller.
The next year, in 1817, William Henry married Mary Ann Cooper. Her family was rigorous practitioner of Wesley's Protestantism. They married at St. George's Hanover Sq. and eventually they had eight children: seven girls, and one boy, who was christened junior William Henry Smith.
In 1821, H. & W. Smith opened a reading room at The Strand. Though, from both brothers, with his enthusiastic attitude William Henry proved better predisposition for the business eventually. Eventually, this would breach the relationship definitively and it was formally broken up in 1828 when Henry Edward left and the company became the W. H. Smith only after William Henry. Later on, the "First with the news" catchphrase was adopted.
W. H. Smith & Son (1846)
Junior W. H. Smith was born in 1825. He attended Tavistock School whose Master, Reverend William Beal from the Church of England, had also married one of W. H. Smith's daughters. From that school, of Junior 's fellows some finished as company partners.
Finally in 1846, Junior W. H. Smith joined the family business and the & Son-ending was added.
The railway system
With the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the 1840s the British railways became a true behemoth. The railway stations were buzzing with waiting passengers. For them the most common pastime was reading practically any material. Publications were sold by an informal network of railway employees who had suffered some physical disability. Junior W. H. Smith had grown particularly imbued by all these opportune circumstances, and he foresaw the potential for new businesses.
In 1848, at Euston Station W. H. Smith & Son opened a shop for selling newspapers and books. The next year, the company inked a massive exclusive contract with the London and North Western Railway, for installing their shops at the foremost railway stations, such as Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham. The terms were established initially for five years, with an £1500 annual cost. It included free transportation for W. H. Smith & Son 's products, all along the railway network.
It was a swift hit. By both rail mail coaches and road carts W. H. Smith & Son 's distribution system reached the most important cities along United Kingdom where they tied secured partnerships with the many small local distributors.
In the 1950s, W. H. Smith & Son became the most important newspaper distributor of United Kingdom while it monopolized almost all bookshops at London's railway stations. Both father and son became wealthy men and they were recognized by London's high-society as well.
The last years
Senior William Henry Smith retired in 1857. In the enterprise managing Junior replaced him although in 1864 he retired too, entering into politics.
In 1865, Senior William Henry Smith died.
Trivia
- After the company's railway bonanza, in one occasion, the company attempted forcing unsuccessfully that the LNWR's timetabling should wait for the regular The Times' delivery.
- At the station shops, the books could be also rented.
- The company sold books which were known as yellowbacks. They consisted of cheap old works reprints which were already out of copyright.
- Against the previous traditional reading along London's railway stations, the company started a rigorous decency campaign against dirty material.
References
See also
Bibliography
- First With The News: The History of WH.Smith, 1792-1972. By Charles Wilson. WHS, 1985.