- Bracewell Smith
Infobox Person
name = Bracewell Smith
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birth_date = birth date|1884|6|24
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death_date = death date and age|1966|1|12|1884|6|24
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nationality = British
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occupation = Businessman and Politician
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title = Baronet Keighley
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spouse = Edith neé Smith
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children = Eileen (b1911) andGeorge Bracewell Smith (b1912)
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footnotes =Sir Bracewell Smith, 1st Baronet, KCVO (
29 June 1884 -12 January 1966 ) was a British businessman and politician. He founded theBracewell-Smith family dynasty.Biography
Born in
Keighley ,Yorkshire , he attended Wesley Primary School in the town [cite web|url=http://d-w-feather.tripod.com/WP%201890's.htm| title = Feather History - School Photo c 1892|accessdate=2008-02-19] . He started as a pupil teacher and attendedLeeds University before entering business. He married Edith Smith in 1909 and had two children Eileen (born 1911) andGeorge Bracewell Smith born in 1912.Business
Smith made his fortune in
property . In particular he was a major hotel investor/owner and who built thePark Lane Hotel in 1920 [cite web|url=http://www.luxuryhoteladvisor.com/profile.php?property=PKL | title = Hotel Photo|accessdate=2008-02-19] . The Bracewell Smith family also owned theRitz Hotel which Sir Bracewell Smith's son George (but known as Guy) sold to Trafalgar House for £2.75m in 1976 [cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/11/db1101.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/04/11/ixopright.html |title = Telegraph Article|accessdate=2008-02-19] . They at various times had stakes in theCarlton Hotel andHôtel Ritz Paris .Smith was also chairman of Arsenal Football Club from 1949 until 1962, and his descendants still hold a significant shareholding in the club. His grandsons Clive and Richard Carr as well as Lady Bracewell-Smith, his grandson Charles' wife, currently sit on the Arsenal board. His granddaughter Lady Sarah Phipps-Bagge (née Sarah Carr) holds 2% of the football club.
Politics
He turned to politics and was a member of
Holborn Borough Council from 1922, serving as Mayor 1931-32, and served on theLondon County Council 1925-28. He was ConservativeMember of Parliament for Dulwich between 1932 and 1945, andLord Mayor of London in 1946. He was made aBaronet 28 June 1947.Other
In 1958 he was made an Honorary Vice President of the
Sports Turf Institute . He was also chairman of Wembley Stadium Ltd.A freeman of Keighley (1957) he donated Cliff Castle [cite web|url=http://archive.cravenherald.co.uk/2004/1/9/104226.html|title = Craven Herald - Article on Donation of Cliff Castle|accessdate=2008-02-19] to the town for a museum [cite web|url= http://www.bbpt.org.uk/completed.asp|title = Museum|accessdate=2008-02-19] .
The Sir Bracewell Smith Cup and rosette is awarded annually for best exhibit in the Keighley Show.
References
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