Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 1848 – 2 October 1931) was a Scottish-born merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman, best known as the founder of Lipton Tea and as the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup. He is also significant in LGBT history as a gay man who, despite living at a time when homosexuality was criminalised under the Labouchere Amendment, maintained a long-term relationship with another man for most of his adult life.
Life and career
Born in a tenement in the Gorbals, Glasgow, to Ulster-Scots parents, Lipton left school at thirteen and worked his way up from errand boy to become one of the most successful businessmen of his era. He opened his first grocery store in Glasgow in 1871 and built a chain of stores across Britain. In 1888 he entered the tea trade, establishing the Lipton Tea brand which remains in existence today.
Lipton became a celebrated public figure, moving in the highest social circles and counting King Edward VII and King George V among his friends. He was knighted in 1898 following a celebrated act of philanthropy — donating £25,000 to Princess Alexandra's fund to provide a Jubilee dinner for the poor.
America's Cup
Lipton made five attempts to win the America's Cup between 1899 and 1930, racing a series of yachts all named Shamrock (I through V). He never won, but his sportsmanship and good humour in defeat made him enormously popular in America. His yachts were crewed in part by sailors from Tollesbury in Essex, which had a strong tradition of supplying skilled racing crews.
Personal life
Lipton carefully cultivated a public image as a bachelor and "ladies' man", using as his stated reason for never marrying that no woman could match his mother. In reality, as his biographer James Mackay documented, he was homosexual.
He maintained a relationship of approximately thirty years with William Love, one of his early shop assistants, with whom he lived — initially alongside his parents. After his relationship with Love ended, other male companions followed, including a young man he met during a cruise in 1900 [1].
The societal and legal context of Lipton's life is important: homosexual acts were criminalised under the Labouchere Amendment of 1885, and Lipton's extraordinary fame — he was one of the most widely recognised men on both sides of the Atlantic — made discretion essential. That he managed to maintain a long-term same-sex relationship while being a public figure of this magnitude, without ever being exposed or prosecuted, is itself a remarkable piece of LGBT history.
Wikipedia describes him as "the world's most eligible bachelor who was in actuality a homosexual with an extremely well-developed mother fixation" — a carefully constructed public persona that served to deflect attention from his private life throughout his long career.
Legacy
Lipton died on 2 October 1931 at his home, Osidge, in Southgate, London, aged 83. He bequeathed the majority of his fortune to his native city of Glasgow, including his yachting trophies, now displayed at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
See also
References
- ↑ James Mackay, Sir Thomas Lipton: The Man Who Invented Himself (Mainstream Publishing, 2011)
