James Reckitt

{{Short description|English businessman (1833–1924)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use British English|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Sir James Reckitt | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Unknown artist - James Reckitt (1833–1924) - KINCM-2005.2681 - Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth-date|15 November 1833}} | birth_place = Nottingham, England | disappeared_date =  | disappeared_place = | disappeared_status = | death_date = {{death-date and age|18 March 1924|15 November 1833}} | death_place = Swanland, England | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | monuments = | nationality = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Businessman | years_active = | employer = | organization = | known_for = Philanthropy, founder of Reckitt and Sons, formerly Reckitts & Colman, now Reckitt Benckiser | notable_works = | style = | height =  | television = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | criminal_charge =  | criminal_penalty = | criminal_status = | spouse = | partner =  | children = | parents = | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | module = | module2 = | module3 = | module4 = | module5 = | module6 = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Sir James Reckitt, 1st Baronet''' (15 November 1833 – 18 March 1924) was a founder of the household products company Reckitt and Sons, developed from his father Isaac Reckitt's starch and laundry blue business.

==Biography== {{see also|Reckitt and Sons}} James Reckitt was born 15 November 1833 in Nottingham, sixth child of Isaac Reckitt (1792-1862), miller; and Anne (née Coleby). He attended Ackworth School, near Pontefract, before, in 1848 entering his father's starch and laundry blue business as a travelling salesman. In 1865 he married Kathleen (née Saunders) by whom he had two sons.<ref>Church, para.1</ref>

After his father's death in 1862, James and his two brothers continued their father's business; the firm was incorporated as Reckitt & Sons Ltd. in 1879. The company grew, using heavy advertising and marketing as one means of promotion, and its starch, blue and boot polishes became successful products internationally. In 1888 the company became a private joint-stock company, and in 1899 a public company, with a value of £1.7 million.<ref>Church, para.2</ref>

Reckitt was an active philanthropist, with numerous charitable works in Hull, and in the East Riding of Yorkshire.<ref name="p45">Church, paras.4–5</ref> Amongst his work was the Garden Village (1908), a 600 home model village built for his workers in Hull which was run as a non-profit organisation during his lifetime;{{sfn|Black|2014}} the James Reckitt Public Library in Hull (1889) which he established and endowed;<ref>{{NHLE|num=1391073|desc = James Reckitt Library|accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref> he also financed the building of a hospital in Withernsea, and contributed to the Newland Homes for Seamen's orphans home, and was active in the early promotion of the Hull Royal Infirmary.<ref name="p45"/> During World War I, he hosted a Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital at the Reckitt & Sons factory and housed Belgian refugees at his home.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hull's WWI Hospitals and Charities |url=https://ww1hull.com/hospitals/ |website=Kingston upon Hull War Memorial 1914-1918|date=26 February 2021 }}</ref> He established the Sir James Reckitt Charity (1921) which supports charitable and Quaker organisations.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thesirjamesreckittcharity.org.uk/| title = The Jir James Reckitt Charity| work = www.thesirjamesreckittcharity.org.uk|access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> As a pastime he was a collector of art.{{sfn|Black|2014}}

Reckitt was active in local politics, with roles including JP, County Councillor, Deputy Lieutenant (of the East Riding); he was a member of the Liberal Party. In 1894 he was awarded a baronetcy in recognition of his public and political service.<ref>Church, para.6</ref>

He died at Swanland Manor on 18 March 1924.{{sfn|Black|2014}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46457729/sir-james-reckitt/ |title=Sir James Reckitt |newspaper=The Guardian |page=13 |date=19 March 1924 |access-date=10 March 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources=== *{{cite web| title=RECKITT, Sir James| work= Who Was Who| first= A & C|last= Black|publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 2014| url = http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U202035}} *{{cite ODNB | last1 = Church | first1 = Roy | title = Reckitt, Sir James, first baronet (1833–1924), businessman and philanthropist | date = 2004 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/48144 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/48144 |ref=church}}

===Further reading=== *{{cite book|title = Sir James Reckitt: A Memoir| last = Chapman-Huston |first = Desmond Mountjoy| publisher = Faber and Gwyer| year =1927}}

==External links== *{{cite web| url=http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/museumcollections/collections/storydetail.php?irn=656| title = Sir James Reckitt| work = Hull Museums Collections}}

{{s-start}} {{s-reg|uk-bt}} {{s-new|Creation}} {{s-ttl|title=Baronet<br />'''(of Swanland Manor)''' | years=1894–1924}} {{s-aft|after=Harold Reckitt}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reckitt, James}} Category:English Quakers Category:Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull Category:English philanthropists Category:Businesspeople from Nottingham Category:1833 births Category:1924 deaths Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Category:Reckitt people Category:Reckitt family Category:Burials at Hull General Cemetery