Felix Booth
Sir Felix Booth, 1st Baronet, FRS (1775 Roydon, Essex – 24 January 1850 Brighton, Sussex) was a wealthy UK gin distiller, and promoter of Arctic exploration, with various places in Nunavut, Canada being named after him.[1]
Life and family
His grandfather, John Booth (a kinsman of Dr Penyston Booth) established Booth's Gin of London in 1740; his son, Philip Booth (who died 1818 in Essex), had three sons and three daughters (of which Felix Booth was the youngest).[2]
In 1832, Booth bought the site of the old Ophthalmic Hospital in Albany Street, Regent's Park as a site for his distillery.
In 1840, he went into partnership with William Grimble to experiment with producing vinegar from the spirits left over from the manufacturing process. The site was in the NE corner of Cumberland Market. The venture was unsuccessful so Sir Felix reverted to the more conventional method of vinegar brewing.
As of 2015, Booth's Gin remains licensed by Diageo.
Geographical expeditions
Fascinated by science, Booth financed John Ross's 1829 expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The Boothia Peninsula and Gulf of Boothia are named after him.
He provided £17,000 for the expenses of the expedition, to which Captain (later Sir John) Ross had added £3,000, and the result was an immense stride in the progress of geographical science. The grateful commander bestowed the name of his patron upon several of his discoveries on land and sea - Gulf of Boothia, Isthmus of Boothia, Continent of Boothia Felix, Felix Harbor, Cape Felix, and Sheriff's Harbor: the district with the islands, rivers, lakes, &c., extending to 74° N. latitude along the north-eastern portion of North America.
The discovery most important to geographical science was that of the magnetic pole at 96° 46' 45" W. longitude, and 70° 5' 17".[3]
Honours and distinctions
Having served as Alderman and Master of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, Booth was elected a Sheriff of London in 1828.
A founding Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Booth was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 10 April 1834;[4] his sponsorship of the successful expedition was rewarded by King William IV with a baronetcy, on 27 March 1835,[5] with remainder to heirs male of his eldest brother.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ www.oxforddnb.com
- ↑ www.burkespeerage.com
- 1 2 Gibson 1886.
- ↑ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 19212. p. 2085. 21 November 1834.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gibson, John Westby (1886). "Booth, Felix". In Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
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