From the Liverpool Daily Post; > HIS name is immortalised in one of Liverpool’s most iconic Victorian > buildings. > > Now 150 descendants of 19th century businessman, politician and > philanthropist William Brown are gathering in the city to mark the > 200th anniversary of the trading and banking company he helped found. > > William Brown is now better known by some for the street and central > library named after him. And the get-together of the extended family > clan will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of him donating the > library he founded to the city. > > Brown was a key member of the city’s commercial life during the 19th > century when Liverpool was at the peak of its power as a trading and > maritime centre. > > The company he helped found was originally involved in the import and > export business. Today it is known as Brown Shipley and is an > exclusive private bank. > > Although it has long gone from Liverpool, William Brown Street and > library survive as powerful reminders of those pioneering days. > > A “clan gathering” is now planned at Liverpool town hall in April to > mark the bank’s bi-centenary and between 150 and 200 family members > are expected – including representatives from its American branch. > > The event is being organised by cousins Anthony and Edward > Clifton-Brown who have arranged a weekend of events for all those > attending, including an evening reception at the library which bears > their ancestor’s name and a visit to as many Brown-related buildings > as can be found. > > Anthony Clifton-Brown said: “We are very proud to be celebrating 200 > years and believe this is quite a feat. We are also very proud of our > Liverpool heritage. > > “Although the bank’s Liverpool office closed in 1888, the firm’s > Liverpool origins are immortalised in the name of William Brown Street > and the library. > > “The original firm was set up in 1810 and it was a very successful and > exciting organisation and very important to Liverpool at that time. > William Brown became, in the view of some, Liverpool’s foremost citizen. > > “A lot of the family think it’s important to mark this distant > ancestor. He was quite a forward thinker in terms of a public library > being a public library. He believed education should be available to > everybody.” > http://tinyurl.com/y9mhqzd