Benjamin Greene

Benjamin Greene (5 April 1780 – 26 November 1860) was an English businessman, newspaper owner and the founder of Greene King, one of the United Kingdom's largest brewing businesses.

Career Benjamin Greene was born on 5 April 1780 in Oundle. He apprenticed at Whitbread, a British multinational hotel and restaurant company.

Greene initially founded a brewing business in 1801 with John Clark in Bury St Edmunds. Then in 1806 he dissolved that partnership and established a new venture with William Buck at the Westgate Brewery.

He acquired the Bury and Suffolk Herald in 1828 and as proprietor took an ultra-conservative position opposing both the Reform Bill and the Slavery Abolition Bill. The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership at UCL describes him as an enthusiastic supporter of slavery, being particularly active between 1828 and 1833. In June 2020 Greene King announced that it would be paying reparations to BAME charities in recognition that he and by extension the company had benefited from slavery.

He died at Russell Square in London on 26 November 1860 and is buried at Highgate Cemetery.

Family He was married twice: first in 1803 to Mary Maling and then in 1805 to Catherine Smith with whom he went on to have seven sons and six daughters including: Benjamin Buck (1808–1902) of Midgham House in Berkshire, Governor of the Bank of England Mary (1812–1870) Edward (1815–1891), Conservative MP for Bury St Edmunds (1865–1885) and Stowmarket (1886–1891); Took charge of running the brewery. William (1824–1881) Charles Henry (1865–1942) Graham Greene Sir Hugh Greene Raymond Greene