William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie

William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie KP ( born May 31, 1847 in Quebec City, † June 7, 1924 ) was an Irish shipbuilder and politician.

Biography

William James Pirrie was born on 31 May 1847 in Quebec City, the son of James Alexander Pirrie and Eliza Swan Montgomery and spent his childhood in Conlig, County Down. At the age of 15, he began his training at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where he later became partner and CEO ( chairman ). From 1906 to 1907, Pirrie Lord Mayor of Belfast. After the First World War, he served as Auditor General for commercial shipbuilding. He was ennobled in 1906 as Baron Pirrie by King Edward VII in 1921, collected by King George V. Viscount Pirrie, of the City of Belfast. Since 1908 he was a knight of the Order of Saint Patrick. Pirrie died on June 7, 1924 during a boat trip on the lake, which both titles expired.

His sister Eliza Pirrie was the mother of Thomas Andrews (1873-1912), the architect of the Titanic.

Political action

Pirrie joined the Belfast Corporation, its position as a Unionist, however, was later softened so that was denied him in 1902 the appointment as parliamentary candidates of the Unionist Party. As Lord Mayor of Belfast he drove by, among others, the construction of a new City Hall and the Royal Victoria Hospital later preceded the foreclosure of the city. Through its support of the Home Rule Bill in 1912 he became the Belfast population to the enemy and was booed there to attend a meeting initiated by Winston Churchill of the Ulster Liberal Association on the open road.

Pirrie role in shipbuilding

After Pirrie became partner in 1874 the two founders, Sir EJ Harland and Gustav Wolff Harland & Wolff, he embodied a driving force in the shipyard, which he chaired for several years. He was one of the foremost warriors in the development of maritime technology and marine architecture, including through the construction of ocean liners such as the Titanic and her sister ships, in collaboration with the British shipping company White Star Line. Pirrie Floating hotels took a dominant position on its North Atlantic route.

• Politicians (Ireland )
• Member of the House of Lords
• Politicians (United Kingdom)
• Viscount
• Entrepreneurs (Ireland )
• Entrepreneurs (19th Century )
• Entrepreneur ( 20th century)
• Irishman
• Born in 1847
• Died in 1924
• Man