Sir David Brown (10 May 1904 – 3 September 1993) was an English industrialist, managing director of his grandfather's gear and machine tool business David Brown Limited and more recently David Brown Tractors, and once the owner of shipbuilders Vosper Thorneycroft and car manufacturers Aston Martin and Lagonda.

Early life

thumb|300px|1914 DBS (David Brown & Sons) [[Valveless phaeton at Tolson Museum]]

Brown was born in Park Cottage in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, to Caroline and Frank Brown in 1904. Park Cottage was demolished in the Second World War to make way for a new factory, on their 17-acre Park Works site.

Brown attended King James's School in Almondbury and Rossall School in Lancashire.

David Brown & Sons

After leaving school, Brown started work aged 17 in 1921 as if just another apprentice in his family's business, David Brown & Sons (Huddersfield), cycling 6 miles to work by 7.30 a.m.. This company, which had been founded by his grandfather David, specialised in transmission components. While his father had no interest in cars and did not drive, his mother was a keen driver and as a small child he had ridden beside Frederick Tasker Burgess on test runs of David Brown & Sons new Valveless car but he did not learn to drive until aged 11.

Brown's father offered to buy him a motorcycle to help him get to work on time, so relying on his father's ignorance of motor vehicles, instead of a small docile motorcycle, Brown after considering a Harley Davidson obtained a powerful Reading Standard 1,000 cc V-twin. He subsequently improved its performance by modifying the engine and raced it in weekend hill climb competitions at Axe Edge Moor and at Sutton Bank. While he attended the practice session, his father forbade him from competing in the competition. The asking price was £30,000. On inquiring further Brown discovered that the company was Aston Martin. A few days later Brown visited the company's headquarters at Feltham and test drove their new prototype design, the Atom.

Following the purchase, work began on converting the Atom into a production car. While the prototype was a saloon, Brown preferred convertibles so the chassis was redesigned to accommodate an open top. When visiting the company he met with the famed engine designer W. O. Bentley, who showed him a modern twin-cam 2,580 cc 6-cylinder, the LB6, which he had been working on for Lagonda. Brown saw it as ideal for his new generation of Aston Martin models.

In late 1955, Brown acquired the coachbuilder Tickford. He subsequently concentrated all the Aston Martin and Lagonda manufacturing at the Tickford premises in Newport Pagnell.

The legendary 'DB' series of Aston Martin cars, from the DB1 (2 Litre Sports) of 1948 through the DBS of 1967-1972, and numerous DB series since (starting with the DB7 in 1994) all bear Brown's initials. Even as company head he nonetheless used a rival Jaguar XJ Series I as personal transport, as it was cheaper to run. The new owner of Aston Martin Lagonda dropped the DB model designation, which in 1993 was restored during Ford ownership with the introduction of the DB7. Walter Hayes, chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, invited Brown to become the Honorary Life President of Aston Martin Lagonda, a position which Brown accepted.

Vosper Thornycroft

In 1963, the David Brown Corporation purchased a controlling interest in the British shipbuilder Vosper & Company, at which Sir David Brown became chairman. The company merged with British shipbuilder John I. Thornycroft & Company to create Vosper Thornycroft in 1966. The warship building division of the company was nationalised by the Labour Government in 1977, becoming a division of British Shipbuilders. The rest of the company remained publicly quoted as a subsidiary of the David Brown Corporation. Bitter about the nationalisation, Brown left Britain to live in retirement in Monte Carlo.

Company sale

In January 1990, Brown sold his shares in the David Brown Corporation for £46 million, but retained a link with the company in his role as its honorary president.

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Driven to Succeed.