Joseph Mears
Joseph Theophilus "JT" Mears (1871 – October 1935), was an English businessman, most notable for co-founding
He was born in 1871 in Hammersmith, London, the elder son of Joseph Mears, a builder.[1]
In 1896, Mears and his brother
In 1907, Mears acquired the business of the Thames Electric & Motor Launch Co at Eel Pie Island and he went on to build up a large fleet of passenger launches on the Thames.
In 1919 he formed his business into Joseph Mears Launches & Motors Ltd, and acquired a garage in Richmond, along with several motor coaches. The company continued until 1945, when it passed to a newly formed company, Thames Launches Ltd.[3]
He formed Joseph Mears Cinemas Ltd which built up a group of cinemas around the Richmond area.[4] Several of the cinemas were later sold to Odeon Cinemas, including the Richmond Kinema which became the Odeon Richmond[5] and the Kensington Kinema which similarly became the Odeon Kensington.[4]
Mears was Mayor of Richmond from 1931 to 1932.
He died in October 1935 and is buried in Richmond Cemetery in London.[6] Mears left an estimated fortune of £30m.[7]
References
- ^ 1881 UK Census.
- ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
- ^ Joseph Mears, Thames Launches
- ^ a b Odeon Kensington, Cinema Trasures website
- ^ Odeon Richmond, Cinema Trasures website
- ^ People buried in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Glanvill (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. p. 78.