George cadbury biography

George Cadbury (19 September 1839 – 24 October 1922) was the third son of John Cadbury, a Quaker who founded Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company in Britain. He was the husband of Dame Elizabeth Cadbury.

Background

He worked at the school for adults on Sundays for no pay, despite only going to school himself until he was fifteen. Together with his brother Richard he took over the family business in 1861 and founded the chocolate producer Cadbury Brothers. In 1878 they acquired 14 acres (57,000 m) of land in open country, four miles (6 km) south-west of Birmingham, where they opened a new factory in 1879. He rented 'Woodbrooke' – a Georgian style mansion built by Josiah Mason, which he eventually bought in 1881. On this site, he founded in 1903 a Quaker higher educational institution for social-service oriented education – an institution that still functions as the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre.

In the early 20th century, he and John Wilhelm Rowntree established a Quaker study centre in the building, and it remains the only such centre in Europe today, offering short educational courses on spiritual and social matters to Quakers and others. He also created a hospital in Normandy called "l'hopital de Normandy".

The Cadbury brothers were concerned with the quality of life of their employees and provided an alternative to grimy city life. As more land was acquired and the brothers moved the factory to a new country location, they decided to build a factory town (designed by architect William Alexander Harvey), which was not exclusive to the employees of the factory. This village became known as Bournville after the nearby river and French word for "town". The houses were never privately owned, and their value stayed low and affordable. Bournville was a marked change from the poor living conditions of the urban environment. Here, families had houses with yards, gardens, and f

British businessman

For his son, see George Cadbury Jr.

George Cadbury (19 September 1839 – 24 October 1922) was an English Quaker businessman and social reformer who expanded his father's Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company in Britain.

Background

George Cadbury was the son of John Cadbury, a tea and coffee dealer, and his wife Candia.

The Cadburys were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers.

He worked at a school for adults on Sundays with no pay, despite only going to the school himself till he was fifteen. At sixteen, he was apprenticed to Joseph Rowntree, in York, to learn the grocery trade. 

Cadbury Brothers Limited

When his family firm was in trouble, due to his father’s declining health after his mother’s death from tuberculosis in 1855, he moved back to Birmingham without having completed his apprenticeship. His older brother Richard was already working in their father’s business, and the two brothers took over the chocolate producer Cadbury Brothers in 1861.

In 1878, they acquired 14 acres (57,000 m) of land in open country, four miles (6 km) south-west of Birmingham, where they opened a new factory in 1879. When Cadbury Brothers was incorporated as a limited company on 16 June 1899, George and Richard owned 100% of the ordi

George Cadbury (September 19, 1839 – October 24, 1922), the third son of the Quaker tea and coffee dealer John Cadbury, was the co-founder of Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company, a social reformer, a philanthropist, and a politician. George was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and was to remain an integral part of the Birmingham society throughout his life.

Although he was a successful businessman, he is best known for building decent housing for his employees and for establishing what has been described as a private social security program for their benefit. Through ownership of several newspapers, he promoted his ideas about welfare, which included improvement of working conditions and the then-innovative concept of an old age pension. Through charities and trusts established by them, the Cadbury family, led by George, is as well known for its philanthropy and humanitarianism as it is for its successful business. After World War I he left the Liberal Party, which he had represented as an elected member of the Birmingham City Council and Worcestershire County Council, and was a co-founder of an anti-war movement established in 1914, the Union of Democratic Control alongside, among others, Ramsay MacDonald, Britain's first Labor Prime Minister.

George Cadbury modeled responsible leadership that lives for the sake of others as he applied the principles of his Quaker faith in business, politics, and his personal life. He regularly taught once a week as a volunteer at the Birmingham Adult School, and through visiting his students' homes became personally aware of their often squalid living conditions. He and his wife, Elizabeth, both were leaders in philanthropy and raised two sons who carried on that tradition as adults.

Biography

George Cadbury was born September 19, 1839 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, where his father John was a tea and coffee merchant. George was a pupil at the Quaker School. Hi

George Cadbury is famous for founding a chocolate company from humble beginnings and giving beneficial conditions to his staff.

When and Where was he Born?

19th September 1839, Edgbaston, Birmingham, England.

Family Background:

George Cadbury was the son of John Cadbury, a tea and coffee dealer, and his wife Candia. George and his brother Richard took over their father’s failing chocolate business in April 1861. The Cadbury’s were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers. (Quakers believe there is a direct relationship between God and every human being contains something of God).

Education:

Local Quaker schools until age 16.

Timeline of George Cadbury

1855:Death of his mother when he is 16 years old. His father’s health is also poor and George joins his brothers to help out in the family business.

1861:His eldest brother Richard and he take control of the company.

1866: The Cadbury Company becomes the first in Britain to sell cocoa as a drink. The beans were ground with sugar to make a powder to which milk and hot water were added. Despite his hectic business life Cadbury still teaches on Sundays at the Birmingham Adult School and is well known for his good works to those less well off than himself.

1872: He marries Elizabeth Mary Tylor.

1879: The headquarters of the Cadbury chocolate and cocoa firm move to Bournville, Birmingham as the existing premises had been outgrown. A model factory and village is built at Bournville and was one of the first examples of a garden city in England. The area was so known as it straddled the Bournbrook and Cadbury added Ville after the Bourn to sound exotic as, at the time, French confectionary was thought to be the best in the world. Cadbury built twenty-four houses on the site for the main workers but later another 300 were added to form the attractive Bournville Village. These houses were vastly superior to other homes of the work