John Bragg (stockbroker)
References from Parliament (Hansard) and Colonial infrastructure funding
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{{Short description|English stockbroker and financier}} |
{{Short description|English stockbroker and financier}} |
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[[File:John-bragg-admitted-to-stock-exchange (1).jpg|thumb|John Bragg, Esq.'s election to the London Stock Exchange, 3 April, 1824]] |
[[File:John-bragg-admitted-to-stock-exchange (1).jpg|thumb|John Bragg, Esq.'s election to the London Stock Exchange, 3 April, 1824]] |
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Born in [[Whitehaven]] on the coastal edge of the [[Lake District]] in Cumbria to Joseph Bragg, Esq., "a gentleman" and his wife Elizabeth, née Skelton, and noted as a neighbour and friend of the Earl of Carlisle, he moved to London and was elected a member of the Stock Exchange in 1824. He founded his company Bragg & Co at No.6 Throgmorton Street, adjacent to the old [[London Stock Exchange]] at Capel Court at Nos.7-9, and later part of the Old Stock Exchange building.Foster, Sandys B. ''The Pedigrees Of Beakbane of Lancaster, Bragg of Netherend etc.'' London, 1890Website of Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co [https://braggstockdalehall.com/] His original clients included the future British Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]]. Disraeli, Benjamin [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Benjamin_Disraeli_Letters_1860_1864/7UEe1izSrjQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=benjamin+disraeli+letters+%22mr+bragg%22&pg=PA391&printsec=frontcover 'Letter to Mr Bragg, 1825'], ''Benjamin Disraeli Letters 1860-1864'', Volume VIII, London 1982 |
Born in [[Whitehaven]] on the coastal edge of the [[Lake District]] in Cumbria to Joseph Bragg, Esq., "a gentleman" and his wife Elizabeth, née Skelton, and noted as a neighbour and friend of the Earl of Carlisle, he moved to London and was elected a member of the Stock Exchange in 1824. He founded his company Bragg & Co at No.6 Throgmorton Street, adjacent to the old [[London Stock Exchange]] at Capel Court at Nos.7-9, and later part of the Old Stock Exchange building.Foster, Sandys B. ''The Pedigrees Of Beakbane of Lancaster, Bragg of Netherend etc.'' London, 1890Website of Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co [https://braggstockdalehall.com/] His original clients included the future British Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]]. Disraeli, Benjamin [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Benjamin_Disraeli_Letters_1860_1864/7UEe1izSrjQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=benjamin+disraeli+letters+%22mr+bragg%22&pg=PA391&printsec=frontcover 'Letter to Mr Bragg, 1825'], ''Benjamin Disraeli Letters 1860-1864'', Volume VIII, London 1982 |
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By the |
By the 1840s, he was in partnership with stockbroker George Stockdale and heavily involved in the boom in mining, railways and infrastructure projects for the British Empire.Bank of England [https://braggstockdalehall.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/c98_3230-bragg-and-stockdale-1.jpeg?w=600&h=806|John Bragg & George Stockdale joint account] Bragg & Stockdale account ledger at the Bank of England, 1847 (Courtesy of the Bank of England Archive, C98/3230)> He was a notable figure in the City, from testifying as one of a dozen stockbrokers before the [[House of Lords]] commission during the Forged Exchequer Bills Scandal of the 1840s,Great Britain Parliament, House of Lords [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Reports_from_Commissioners/nBBcAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 'John Bragg sworn and testify'] Reports from Commissioners Volume 22, p.167. (London, 1842) to part funding [[Crown Agents]] loans to the colony of [[Mauritius]] to build its railway.Sundarland, David [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Managing_the_British_Empire/8zDh79Q3Dt8C?hl=en&gbpv=1 'Purchasers of those loans etc.] Managing the British Empire: The Crown Agents, 1833-1914. (London, 2013)> |
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In 1852 he married Eleanor, daughter of Rev. Robert Otway Wilson, B.D., whose photograph by [[Camille Silvy]] is in the National Portrait Gallery and they had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Bragg, who went on to marry Percival Bowen in 1877 and have six children.[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw298924/Mrs-John-Bragg? Mrs John Bragg] National Portrait Gallery |
In 1852 he married Eleanor, daughter of Rev. Robert Otway Wilson, B.D., whose photograph by [[Camille Silvy]] is in the National Portrait Gallery, and they had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Bragg, who went on to marry Percival Bowen in 1877 and have six children.[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw298924/Mrs-John-Bragg? Mrs John Bragg] National Portrait Gallery |
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John Bragg died peacefully in his home of No. 1 Porchester Gardens in the City of Westminster in London in 1868 worth £30,000, or roughly £30 million in today's money adjusted for [[Average earnings index|average earnings]].Paul Frecker Fine Photographs [http://paulfrecker.com/LibraryDetails/9285 Miss Marry Bragg][https://braggstockdalehall.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/screenshot-2024-04-19-152229.jpg?w=600 'Deaths'] ''The London Illustrated News'', November 7, 1868 |
John Bragg died peacefully in his home of No. 1 Porchester Gardens in the City of Westminster in London in 1868 worth £30,000, or roughly £30 million in today's money adjusted for [[Average earnings index|average earnings]].Paul Frecker Fine Photographs [http://paulfrecker.com/LibraryDetails/9285 Miss Marry Bragg][https://braggstockdalehall.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/screenshot-2024-04-19-152229.jpg?w=600 'Deaths'] ''The London Illustrated News'', November 7, 1868 |
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Following his death, in 1888 George Stockdale partnered with Frederic Hall, maintaining the founder's name in what was now Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co. In 1975 it merged with Fiske & Co, with senior partner Lord [[Michael Brudenell-Bruce, 8th Marquess of Ailesbury]] joining with Fiske senior partner [[Clive Fiske Harrison]], Esq., who himself had been recruited out of the [[University of Cambridge]] to [[Panmure Gordon]] by Ian Cameron, father of another future British [[Prime Minister]], [[David Cameron]].Business News [https://braggstockdalehall.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/the-times-fiske-bragg-merger.png?w=450&h=638 'Stockbroking merger'] ''The Times'', October 17 1975 Bragg's venture thus continued as "Fiske & Co, also incorporating Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co.[https://braggstockdalehall.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bragg-standard.png "A bit of a mouthful merger"], ''Evening Standard'', 30 October 1975 |
Following his death, in 1888 George Stockdale partnered with Frederic Hall, maintaining the founder's name in what was now Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co. In 1975 it merged with Fiske & Co, with senior partner Lord [[Michael Brudenell-Bruce, 8th Marquess of Ailesbury]] joining with Fiske senior partner [[Clive Fiske Harrison]], Esq., who himself had been recruited out of the [[University of Cambridge]] to [[Panmure Gordon]] by Ian Cameron, father of another future British [[Prime Minister]], [[David Cameron]].Business News [https://braggstockdalehall.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/the-times-fiske-bragg-merger.png?w=450&h=638 'Stockbroking merger'] ''The Times'', October 17 1975 Bragg's venture thus continued as "Fiske & Co, also incorporating Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co."[https://braggstockdalehall.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bragg-standard.png "A bit of a mouthful merger"], ''Evening Standard'', 30 October 1975 |
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In 2022, following the acquisition of Charles Stanley - which was founded in 1792 and |
In 2022, following the acquisition of Charles Stanley - which was founded in 1792 and took over Bragg's offices at No.6 in 1953 - by Raymond James, it inherited the title of oldest independent stockbroker in the [[City of London]].[https://braggstockdalehall.com Bragg, Stockdale, Hall & Co website] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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