Benjamin Guinness Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Benjamin Guinness is famous for popularizing the alcoholic beverage of which he inherited from his father at a young age. Despite the business being a success as it is, he managed to expand and increase the sales which made it into a household name in the industry. He died on May 19, 1868, at the age of 69 and was interred at Mount Jerome Cemetery located in Dublin, Ireland.

Personal Life and Relations

Benjamin Lee Guinness was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 1, 1798, to Anne Lee and Arthur Guinness II. His grandfather was named Arthur who bought the St. James Brewery in 1759 then turned it into a household alcoholic name, Guinness.  

Guinness began to take over the business in his late teens as instructed by his father without any college attainment and entirely took control in 1839. In 1865, Guinness’ father died which left him in charge of the brewery. By that time, the family’s stocks grew exponentially as it also entered the export trade and its continuous expansion.

Benjamin Guinness was married to Elizabeth Guinness, his first cousin of which the ceremony took place on February 24, 1837. Their marriage brought forth three sons namely Arthur, Benjamin, and Edward, and a daughter named Anne. His eldest son took over his position at the baronetcy and also worked alongside his third son Benjamin to handle the family brewery.

Business Success

Benjamin Guinness began to take over the business in his late teens as instructed by his father without any college attainment and fully took control in 1839. In 1865, Guinness’ father died which left him in charge of the brewery. By that time, the family’s stocks grew exponentially as it also entered the export trade and its continuous expansion. The family product circulated around Dublin and Britain with peaked sales that amounted to 256,000 hogsheads in 1870 as compared to the 78,000 hogsheads that he started upon his turnover back in 1855.

Aside from cultivating the family trade, he also made investment deals with the Irish Railway Companies as means to delivery assurance and brewery expansion starting from the 1840s.

From Marketing Official to Public Servant

Besides being a prominent figure in the marketing industry, Benjamin Guinness was also involved in the world of politics. He served as the first Lord Mayor of Dublin upon the city’s reformed corporation in 1851 and was named baronet on April 15, 1857. He was also elected as a Conservative representative of Dublin at the House of Commons in 1865 which he fulfilled until his death in 1868.