![]() After much market research and international travel, they began to corner the market: Sunlight Soap, the world’s first packaged and branded laundry detergent, was born. In 1885, along with his brother James, he established Lever Brothers and brought soap to the masses. Looking at his father’s humble empire, Lever’s gaze fell upon one thing – soap. Not content with the rapid expansion of his father’s business, Lever wanted to create his own. Nevertheless, this drive would take him to the pinnacle of international success. He was a perfectionist who insisted on managing all aspects of business, much to the chagrin of his co-workers. ‘Lever immersed himself in the application of the wisdom of Smiles’ Self-Help, which placed enormous emphasis on the husbanding of time in pursuit of daily self-improvement.’Įchoing his rigid yet productive personal routines, Lever’s business model was one of meticulous planning, canny advertising and, in some ways, overbearing paternalism. With this, his salary rose to £800 a year and his dream of marrying his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Hulme, became a reality. When Lever was aged 21, his father made him a junior partner in the business. He immersed himself in the application of the wisdom of Smiles’ Self-Help, which placed enormous emphasis on the husbanding of time in pursuit of daily self-improvement. In 1867, Lever was recruited into the family grocery business, where one of his chores was to cut the large blocks of soap into slices and wrap them for sale.Įven though he soon progressed through the ranks of the business, Lever was frustrated by his lack of responsibility and channelled much of his energy into his leisure time. Although an academic non-achiever at school, Lever threw himself into extracurricular activities and aspired to be an architect – but his father had other plans. His education at Bolton Church Institute and membership of the Congregationalist Church was later reflected in his work and politics. Born in Bolton in 1851, Lever was the seventh child of grocer James Lever and Eliza Hesketh. Known throughout the world for his industrialism and philanthropy, William Lever had humble origins that were to provide a springboard for his success. Later labelled ‘the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism’, Self-Help by Samuel Smiles (published in 1859) was a moral treatise on the promotion of self-improvement and the denouncement of materialism. On 19 September 1867, 16-year-old William Lever received a birthday present that was to not only influence his future profession but also his entry into masonic life. Best remembered for bringing soap to the masses, William Lever was driven by Freemasonry’s strong philanthropic values, as Philippa Faulks explains
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