David Brown (entrepreneur)

Sir David Brown (10 May 1904 – 3 September 1993) was an English entrepreneur, managing director of his family farm David Brown Ltd. and one time owner of shipbuilders Vosper Thorneycroft and automobile manufacturer Aston Martin.

Early life and David Brown Ltd.

Brown was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.^[1] After attending King James's Grammar School, Almondbury and Rossall School he started work as an apprentice in the family business, David Brown Gear Company Ltd. He became managing director in 1931, on his uncle Percy's death.^[2]

In 1934 the company built a new factory on a site at Meltham, on the south side of Huddersfield. Brown, who also owned a farm, started the Ferguson-Brown Company building tractors with Harry Ferguson there in 1936, but they disagreed over design details, which led David Brown to design his own version. During the Second World War his new heavier tractor, called the David Brown VAK1, was produced, with over 7,700 units eventually sold, making Brown into a wealthy man. Harry Ferguson went to America and did a deal with Henry Ford to incorporate his system in the Ford N-Series tractor, before setting up Ferguson Tractors. In 1972, the David Brown tractor interests were sold to Tenneco International and were rebadged as Case.

Aston Martin

In 1947, Brown saw a classified advertisement in The Times, offering for sale a "High Class Motor Business". Brown acquired Aston Martin for £20,500 and, in the following year, Lagonda for £52,500, followed by the coachbuilder Tickford in 1955. He subsequently concentrated all the Aston Martin manufacturing at the Tickford premises in Newport Pagnell.

The legendary 'DB' series of Aston Martin cars, including the Atom, the DB1 (2 Litre Sports), the DB2, the DB3, the DB4, the DB5, the DB6, DBS were named after Brown using his initials. Ironically, while at the helm of the Aston Martin company, he actually used a rival product, a Jaguar XJ Series I, as personal transport. Aston Martin was sold off in the 1970s when the company was in financial difficulties.

Personal life

In his personal life Brown owned racehorses, played polo at Ham Polo Club, raced cars and motorcycles, and was a qualified pilot. He was knighted in 1968.^[3]

He married three times, to Daisy Muriel Firth in 1926, Marjorie Deans (his secretary) in 1955 and to Paula Benton Stone in 1980. He had two children, David and Angela, both of whom entered the family business. Angela married George Abecassis the racing driver. Sir David Brown died in September 1993 in Monte Carlo, 8 years before David Brown Ltd was acquired by Textron

Further reading

• David Brown Tractors 1936–64, by Alan Earnshaw

References

External links

• Facsimile of the advert from The Times at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 February 2006)
• The David Brown Company