Benjamin Brayton Knight (1813–1898) was a

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

industrialist and philanthropist, who was a partner with his brother Robert Knight in the B. B. & R. Knight Company and was one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world when he died in 1898. Knight co-founded the large and famous brand,

Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and undergarment, underwear. The company's world headquarters are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary ...

Biography

He was born in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of ...

, on October 3, 1813, to Stephen Knight and Weltham Brayton. Knight worked on the family farm until he was 18 and went to work at Sprague Print Works in Cranston. In 1835, he opened a general grocery store near the print works before returning to farming. In 1838, he moved to Providence, and founded Winsor, Knight & Company, a grocery business, with Onley Winsor and L. E. Bowen and eventually his brother, Jeremiah Knight, and the firm became B. B. Knight & Co. Knight later partnered with D. T. Penniman as Penniman, Knight & Company in the flour and

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

in the Amasa Mason Block on Dyer Street

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. After buying out Penniman, Knight continued alone for about four years until 1849 when he sold his grocery business to Jeremiah. In 1852 Knight sold half of his flour and grain interest to Robert Knight, another brother. He then purchased from Robert a one-half interest in the Pontiac Mill and Bleachery, and the firm of B. B. and R. Knight was formed. The brothers later began to focus solely on the textile manufacturing. The company became the largest textile manufacturer in the world. The company purchased the Dedham Manufacturing Company on

Mother Brook Mother Brook is an artificial waterway in Dedham, and Hyde Park, Massachusetts, and the first man-made canal in the present-day United States. Constructed in 1639 by settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, it diverts water from the Charles R ...

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a New England town, town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. First settled by E ...

in 1877. Benjamin Knight also served as in several political offices, including as a member of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

and city alderman. Knight also became involved in various banking and insurance companies. He married Alice W. Collins in 1842, and they had three children. She died on February 8, 1850, and he remarried to Phebe A. Slocum in December 1851. They had two children. Benjamin Knight died in Providence on June 4, 1898. He was buried at

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organize ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Benjamin 1813 births 1898 deaths Businesspeople from Providence, Rhode Island American Civil War industrialists American Congregationalists American chief executives of manufacturing companies American bankers American financiers People from Cranston, Rhode Island 19th-century American philanthropists Burials at Swan Point Cemetery

Biography

See also

References

External links