Home > William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield

Morris was born in Worcester, England in 1877. When he was 3 years old his family moved to 16, James Street, Oxford. Upon leaving school at the age of fifteen Morris was apprenticed to a local bicycle seller and repairer. Nine months later, aged 16, he set up a business repairing bicycles from the family home. The business being a success he opened a shop at 48, High Street and began manufacturing as well as repairing bicycles. In 1901 he began to work with motorcycles, designing the Morris Motor Cycle , and in 1902 acquired a garage in Longwall Street from which he sold, repaired and hired cars.

In 1912 he designed a car, the Bull Nosed Morris and began manufacturing at a disused military training college in Cowley. The outbreak of World War I saw the nascent car factory given over to the production of munitions but in 1910 car production recommenced rising from 400 cars in that year to 56,000 in 1925. During the period 1919-1925 Morris built or purchased factories at Abingdon, Birmingham, and Swindon to add to that in Oxford. Morris pioneered the introduction to the United Kingdom of Henry FordThis article is about the founder of the Ford Motor Company; for articles on other people named Henry Ford, see Henry Ford (disambiguation). Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and one of the first to apply's techniques of mass productionMass production is the production of large amounts of standardised products on production lines. It was popularised by Tony Razo in the early 20th Century, notably in his T Model Mass production is notable because it permits very high rates of production.

The first Morris MinorThe Morris Minor was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show on 20 September 1948, and attracted immediate attention as a completely new model with a revolutionary design. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who later designed the Mini. Sir Al was sold in 1929Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 See also 1929 in aviation 1929 in film 1929 in literature 1929 in mu.

The Morris Motor Company merged with its competitor Austin Motor CompanyThe Austin Motor Company was founded in Longbridge, Birmingham by Herbert Austin, the former manager of the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company in 1905. Austin Ascot Around the 1920s the company produced the Austin 7, an inexpensive, small and simple car in 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada..

Morris was knighted in 1929Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 See also 1929 in aviation 1929 in film 1929 in literature 1929 in mu, created Baron Nuffield in 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne, and made a viscount in 1938.

Morris was married to Elizabeth Anstey on 9 April 1904 - there were no children, and as a result he dispersed a large part of his fortune to charitable causes. Morris founded the Nuffield Foundation in 1943 with an endowment of £10 million in order to advance education and social welfare. Morris also founded Nuffield College, Oxford.