John Knight

John Knight (25 December 1792 – 6 April 1864) was an English businessman and founder of John Knight Soap Works in London, which later became The Royal Primrose Soap Works.

In 1810, John Knight started making candles and soaps, in his spare time, using scraps of material from his job working for a grocer in London. The son of a farmer, Knight was about 18 years old when he established a company in London that would last for 200 years.

Early life

John Knight was born on Christmas Day in 1792 to a large Quaker family of farmers in Hertfordshire, England. He left home at the age of 15, with only the money in his pocket, and set off to try and make his fortune in London. First, he served as an indentured apprentice in a grocer's shop in the Mile End, East London. There, Knight learned the art of tallow candle dipping.

Career

Knight saw an untapped demand for soap while working in the working-class neighborhood of Wapping in East London. His goal was to make affordable products that would work well and that everyone would enjoy using.

In 1817, John Knight Soap Works was officially established in the industrial area of Wapping, East London. The company was renamed John Knight & Sons when five sons joined the business in the 1840s. For decades, Knight provided candles and washing soaps to the royal family in London. In recognition, John Knight & Sons were awarded a Royal Warrant that officially branded the company as Soap Makers to King Edward VII, in 1903. It was also during this year that the name of Primrose Soap was changed to The Royal Primrose Soap. In 1906, the soap and candle company went public as John Knight, Ltd.

Primrose Soap The soap of those early days was dark in color, and the consumption small; Knight revolutionized the trade by manufacturing a high-quality pale yellow soap, which he named "Primrose Soap".

Family business

Knight was one of the first companies in London to hire women to work in factories during World War I. They supported reducing factory shifts from 12 hours down to a reasonable 8 hours. This strategy increased the number of workers hired and improved productivity.

Knight's Carbolic Soap was produced around 1890 before Lifebuoy soap was developed in 1895. Later, the company reformulated the carbolic soap, previously made from coal tar, and branded it as Family Health Soap.

The affordable soaps produced by John Knight & Sons helped to prevent disease and keep citizens healthy. The soap company promoted hand washing via print publications and postcards. Their public messaging of cleanliness was especially important during wars and disease epidemics. The anti-bacterial soap was distributed to soldiers and POWs during the wars.