Frederick John Horniman

Who was Frederick John Horniman?

Frederick John Horniman was an English tea trader and founder of the Horniman Museum in London.

Frederick, born in Bridgwater, Somerset, was the son of John Horniman, who established Horniman's Tea, a tea business using mechanical packaging. By 1891, it was said to be the biggest tea company in the world.

He founded the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, south London. In 1901, he gave the museum to London County Council for use by the people of London.

He was a member of the London County Council, and Liberal Member of Parliament for Penryn and Falmouth in Cornwall from 1895 until 1906.

In 1859 he married Rebekah Emslie. Their son Emslie John Horniman was Liberal MP for Chelsea. He continued to develop the museum, and was a noted art collector and patron in his own right, who rebuilt his homes at Burford Priory in Oxfordshire and at Garden Corner, Chelsea.

Their daughter, Annie Horniman, worked in theatre, being a founder of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.

In 1897 he married Minnie Louisa Bennett; they later had two daughters.