John Quiller Rowett
John Quiller Rowett (1874–1924) was a British businessman who made a fortune in the spirits industry. He had a desire, however, to do more than make money, and in the years after the First World War he was a notable contributor to public and charitable causes. A school-friend of Sir Ernest Shackleton at Dulwich College, Rowett was the sole financial backer for Shackleton's final Antarctic venture, the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1921–22, during which Shackleton died.[1]
After Shackleton's death, Rowett was instrumental in acquiring the whaleboat James Caird, in which Shackleton had made his famed 1916 open-boat voyage, and presenting it to Dulwich College.[2] He was also a co-founder of the Rowett Research Institute, an animal nutrition research laboratory now part of the University of Aberdeen,[3] and was also a benefactor to hospital charities.[1] In 1924, believing his business affairs to be on a downturn, Rowett took his own life.[4]
Notes and references
- ^ a b Huntford, pp. 682–84
- ^ "About the Society". The James Caird Society. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
- ^ "About the Institute". University of Aberdeen. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
- ^ "The Agricultural Association, the Development Fund, and the Origins of the Rowett Research Institute" (PDF). www.bahs.org.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2008. Footnote, p. 60
Sources
- Huntford, Roland (1985). Shackleton. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-25007-0.
- "About the Institute". University of Aberdeen. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
- "The Agricultural Association, the Development Fund, and the Origins of the Rowett Research Institute" (PDF). www.bahs.org.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2008.