Sir Benjamin Truman (1699/1700 – 20 March 1780) was an English

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

during the 18th century, responsible for the expansion of the Truman Brewery in the

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

area of east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Biography

Truman followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both named Joseph Truman. Joseph Truman the elder inherited the Lolsworth Field brewery, William Bucknall's Brewhouse, in 1694, and took his son into partnership in 1716 before dying in 1719. Benjamin Truman joined the firm in 1722, and proved himself a shrewd businessman: :"On the birth of the Duchess of Brunswick, granddaughter of George II, in August 1737, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

ordered four loads of faggots and a number of tar barrels to be burnt before

Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...

to celebrate the event, and directed the brewer of his household to place four barrels of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

near the bonfire for the use of those who chose to partake of the beverage. The beer proved to be of inferior quality and the people threw it into each other's faces and the barrels into the fire. The prince remedied the matter on the following night by ordering a fresh quantity of beer from another brewer. This was supplied by Truman, who took care that it should be of the best, thus earning for himself considerable popularity". Under Truman's management, the Black Eagle brewery increased substantially in prosperity and size, and Truman divided his time between the brewery's Directors' House and a home, Popes, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. Truman was knighted by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

on his accession in 1760 in recognition of his loyalty in contributing to the voluntary loans raised to carry on the various foreign wars. His portrait was painted by George Romney and

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

(c. 1773-1774); the latter has been part of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

collection since 1978. Truman died on 20 March 1780, and left a daughter Frances (married to Henry Read), his only child. Her sons, William Truman Read and General Henry Read (Sir Benjamin's grandsons), became involved in the business. Sir Benjamin's great-grandchildren, John Freeman Villebois and Henry Villebois, later succeeded to his interest in the business. Truman was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's,

Hertingfordbury Hertingfordbury is a small village in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Hertingfordbury is also the name of a neighbouring civil parish, which does not contain the villa ...

. Together with his memorial is that of his wife Frances Truman who died 10 June 1766 aged 66 and James Truman Esq., died 11 November 1766 aged 42. His wife was the daughter of James Winstanley. New Zealand artist Sophia Augusta Moore was his descendant. Her son was the artist John Lysaght Moore.

Trivia

Truman's image was used on beer labels and in advertising until the 1970s, depicting him as a jolly fat man with a peg leg and the motto “There’s more hops in Ben Truman”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, Benjamin 17th-century births 1780 deaths English brewers Year of birth uncertain