Sir Holbrook Gaskell (12 November 1878 – 31 March 1951) was a

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

industrialist in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. He was born on the 12 November 1878, the son of Holbrook Gaskell Jr., Esq., of

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 9,300. It is south of Liverpool and southwest of Man ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and the grandson of

Holbrook Gaskell Holbrook Gaskell (5 March 1813 – 8 March 1909) was a British industrialist, and an art and plant collector. Early life Gaskell was born in Wavertree, Liverpool. He was the eldest son of Roger Gaskell, a sailcloth manufacturer, from his marr ...

, founder of Gaskell, Deacon & Co. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He became chief engineer of the

United Alkali Company United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890, employing the Leblanc process to produce soda ash for the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in ...

in 1914. After the outbreak of the First World War, he became responsible for designing and constructing plants to manufacture caustic soda and chlorine via the electrolysis of brine. He visited USA with Dr. J. T. Conroy to investigate the

electrolytic An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases, dissolved in a polar solvent like water. Upon dissolving, the ...

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

processes in use there. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

for his work during the war. With E. M. Hollingsworth he designed West Bank Power Station in the 1920s to supply power to the factories of the United Alkali Company. When this company joined with three other companies to form

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

in 1926, Gaskell became the chairman of its General Chemicals Group. Later he became technical director on the board of Imperial Chemical Industries and in 1942 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed for his services to industry. He married Emily Mary Ridgway on 21 February 1906 at

St Peter's Church, Oughtrington St Peter's Church is the parish church of Lymm in Warrington, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese ...

Lymm Lymm ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...

, Cheshire. They had no children. He died on 31 March 1951.

References

Citations Sources * People from Widnes English chemists English businesspeople 1878 births 1951 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Rugby School {{UK-business-bio-1870s-stub