George Courtauld (industrialist, born 1761)
{{Short description|British industrialist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George Courtauld
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1761|09|19}}
| birth_place = Cornhill, London, Kingdom of Great Britain
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1823|08|12|1761|09|19}}
| death_place = Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
| burial_place = Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| occupation = {{plainlist}}
{{endplainlist}}
| known_for = Founder of George Courtauld & Co (later, Courtaulds)
| spouse = Ruth Courtauld, née Minton
| children = {{plainlist}}
- Samuel Courtauld
- Catherine Courtauld
- George Courtauld
{{endplainlist}}
| parents = {{plainlist}}
- Samuel Courtauld, I
- Louisa Courtauld, née Ogier
{{endplainlist}}
| family = Courtauld Family
}}
George Courtauld (1761–1823) was a British silk weaver, industrialist and founder of George Courtauld & Co (later, Courtaulds).{{cite web |author1=Union List of Artist Names |title=Courtauld, George (English silk weaver, born 1761) |url=http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500117140 |website=Getty Research |publisher=Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=3 May 2025 |location=Los Angeles}}
Early life
George Courtauld was born on the 19 September 1761 in Cornhill, London, to Louisa Courtauld, née Ogier, and Samuel Courtauld, I.{{cite book |title=England, Births and Christensings, 1538–1975 |date=2013 |publisher=FamilySearch |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |chapter=Courtauld, George}}{{cite web |author1=Union List of Artist Names |title=Courtauld, Samuel, I (English silversmith, 1720-1765) |url=http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500117138 |website=Getty Research |publisher=J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=3 May 2025 |location=Los Angeles}}{{cite web |author1=Union List of Artist Names |title=Courtauld, Louisa Perina (British silversmith, ca. 1729-1807) |url=http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500098823 |website=Getty Research |publisher=J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=3 May 2025 |location=Los Angeles}} Courtauld was baptised on the 8 October 1761 at the French Church on Threadneedle street, London.{{cite web |last1=Forsyth |first1=Will |title=The Huguenots of London |url=https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/the-huguenots-of-london |website=Layers of London |publisher=School of Advanced Study, University of London |access-date=4 May 2025 |location=London}}
Career
Apprenticed to a Spitalfields silk weaver in 1775, George Courtauld first worked on his own as silk throwster.[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/46847?docPos=3 Samuel Courtauld (George Courtauld's son) at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] Between 1785 and 1794 he made a number of visits to America. In 1794 he established his own textile business at Pebmarsh under the name George Courtald & Co., which was to become the UK's largest manufacturer of mourning crape. However by 1816 the business was in financial difficulty: that year George's son Samuel took over the business and built it into the UK's largest manufacturer of mourning crape.
Courtauld was an ardent Unitarian, and retired to the United States.
Courtauld is buried at Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
Family
George Courtauld married Ruth MintonProceedings of the Huguenot Society of London: Volume 11. Huguenot Society of London. 1917 on 10 July 1789. Their children were:
- Samuel Courtauld (1793–1881)
- Catherine Courtauld (1795-)
- George Courtauld (1802–1861)
References
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Category:English businesspeople
Category:British textile industry businesspeople
Category:English emigrants to the United States
Category:English people of French descent
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