Thomas Johnstone Lipton (1850 - 1931)

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Thomas Johnstone Lipton

Birth:	May 10, 1850
Death:	Oct. 2, 1931
Tea Merchant and yachtsman. At fifteen Thomas Lipton immigrated to the United States and tried various jobs. But within five years he returned to Scotland and opened a provision shop. With the success of this he continued to open more stores across Great Britain till their number exceeded 300. In 1888 to help supply his stores with tea and to lower prices to the point where he could supply tea to the lower class he formed his own tea tasting office. At a time when tea was shipped and sold in bulk, Lipton developed tea bags, thus insuring consistency and freshness for tea consumers. He also sold different blends to different countries, to make up for variations in water from region to region, and managed to lower the cost of tea with greater efficiency of production. Thus the Lipton Tea Company was formed. Between the years 1889 and 1930 he challenged several American yachts in the America's Cup Races with a series of boats called Shamrock I to Shamrock V. Though never a winner his efforts spread the name of Lipton tea across America. He was knighted in 1898 and was m a baronet in 1902. Before the Football (Soccer) World Cup was contested in 1930 The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was competed for in tournaments in Turin Italy in both 1909 and 1911. (bio by: Paul G. Healy) Search Amazon for Thomas Lipton

Burial: Southern Necropolis Glasgow Glasgow City, Scotland
Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: May 03, 1998 Find A Grave Memorial# 2855