Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone, 1st Baronet

▪ British merchant

born May 10, 1850, Glasgow

died Oct. 2, 1931, London

      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 and provided his own packing house 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.

* * *