William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie
William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie was born on May 31, 1847. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie
William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1924) was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898. He was ennobled as Baron Pirrie in 1906, appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1908 and made Viscount Pirrie in 1921. Lord Pirrie was involved in the building of the Olympic-class ocean liners, along with his nephew Thomas Andrews. In Belfast, he was already a controversial figure: a Protestant employer associated as a leading Liberal with a policy of Home Rule for Ireland.