Samuel Beale

Samuel Beale (4 June 1803 – 11 September 1874) was a British Liberal Party politician, banker and industrialist.

Early life Beale was born in Birmingham in 1803 to William and Sarah and, in 1823, married Emma Butcher, daughter of Unitarian minister Edmund Butcher.

In early life he was a glass and lead merchant before, in 1836, founded the Birmingham and Midland Bank.

In 1844, he became Chairman of the Midland Railway, a post he held for 20 years, and in 1849 a Justice of the Peace for Birmingham. In 1853, he was an ironmaster and partner in the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company.

Unitarian activities Beale was an active unitarian follower, becoming a Member of Church of the Messiah, Birmingham and vice-president of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association. During the 1857 general election, which he was contending, Beale attended a service despite being warned that he would lose if he did so.