Richard Potter, Born 1817
investor in timber and railways
Richard Potter was the son of a radical non-conformist Liberal Party MP, also called Richard. Richard Potter junior qualified as a lawyer and invested in a timber importing business in Gloucester. This branched out into supplying pre-fabricated wooden buildings for Australian gold miners and for the army. They also supplied a pre-fabricated wooden hospital (designed by isambard Kingdom Brunel) for the Crimean War. The timber importing business had provided sleepers for the booking railway industry, which led to Potter becoming a major investor in railways in both England and Canada. He was chairman on the Great Western Railway, and also of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. Potter had nine daughters, and one son who died in infancy. Several of his daughters developed significant careers including notably Beatrice Webb, who was a founder of the London School of Economics and the Fabian Society.
Click below to view his life story:
Source: Compiled by Alex Reid in 2021, with acknowledgement and thanks, from Wikipedia and other internet sources.
Connected life stories:
His father: Potter, Richard. Born 1778. (16 pages). Electoral reformer and Liberal MP.
His great great grandson: Cockburn, Malcolm. Born 1940. (17 pages). Engineer, farmer and adventurer.
Malcolm Cockburn’s father: Cockburn, Jim. Born 1909. (4 pages). Farmer and magistrate in Dorset.