William Hillman
William Hillman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Stratford, Essex, England |
| Died | February 4, 1921 (aged 72) Keresley Hall, Coventry, England |
| Occupation | Manufacturer |
| Known for | Founder of Hillman Motor Company; bicycle and automobile manufacturing |
William Hillman (13 November 1848 – 4 February 1921) was a prominent British manufacturer specializing in bicycles and automobiles. In 1907, he partnered with Louis Coatalen to establish the Hillman-Coatalen Company, which was renamed the Hillman Motor Company after Coatalen departed for Sunbeam in 1909.
Early life
Born on 13 November 1848 in Stratford, Essex (although some records indicate 30 December 1847 in Lewisham, Kent), Hillman was the son of a shoemaker. He completed an apprenticeship at John Penn & Co. engineering works in Greenwich alongside James Starley, later recognized as "the father of the cycle industry." Both men relocated to the industrial Midlands and joined the Coventry Sewing Machine Company, which transitioned into bicycle manufacturing due to declining demand for sewing machines. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 disrupted French bicycle production, thereby increasing demand for British-made cycles. In 1875, Hillman co-established Auto Machinery, a bicycle manufacturing enterprise, with financial backing from W. H. Herbert.
Family life
Hillman married Fanny Moreton Brockas, daughter of farmer Henry Brockas, in 1873. They had five daughters, three of whom married into families connected with the British automotive sector:
- Mary Beatrice Hillman (born 1881), a violinist
- Evelyn Hillman (1883–1996), who wed watchmaker Percy Rowland Hill
- Dorothy Annie Hillman (1885–1975), spouse of Thomas Sidney Dick, uncle to Alick Dick of Standard Motor Company
- Margaret Verena Hillman (1887–1965), married John Black, later chairman of Standard-Triumph
- Edith Kathleen Hillman (1891–1972), who became the wife of Spencer Wilks from Rover Car Company
Hillman passed away at Keresley Hall, Coventry, on 4 February 1921 and was interred at Keresley Churchyard.
Career
Hillman's enterprise manufactured bicycles, roller-skates, and sewing machines while also pioneering the large-scale production of ball and roller bearings. By the closing years of the nineteenth century, he managed four factories located in Coventry and an additional facility in Nuremberg, Germany. Around 1896, bicycle production was separated from other operations; this division employed approximately 600 workers and produced about 33,000 bicycles annually.
In 1905, Hillman expanded into motor vehicle manufacturing and two years later co-founded the Hillman-Coatalen Company with Louis Coatalen from Humber. His commercial achievements brought him considerable wealth and allowed him to move to Abingdon House in Stoke Aldermoor, now incorporated into Coventry.