John Skirrow was born in Birmingham, England back in 1822. He was employed at Smith and Kemp a button manufacturer. By 1850, he was a partner in the business. He also served as President of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He was the first chairman of the Birmingham Liberal Association. In 1880, he was elected to parliament as a Liberal in Nottingham.
He was known for his many contributions to the General Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, the School of Art and the Children’s Hospital to name just a few. He shared his profits of his enterprise however, he opposed factor legislation, arguing that it interfered with the individual employer.
While you may not know John Skirrow Wright surely you have used something he invented while serving at the Chamber of Commerce. For you see he was the inventor of the Postal Money Order. He was to attend a dinner held in his honor on April 15th, 1880, just prior to the dinner party he died. I could not find out what he died from, as it is lost to history. Until tomorrow keep a smile on your face and a penny in your pocket
Comments(14)