About Whitaker Wright
James Whitaker Wright (9 February 1846 – 26 January 1904) was a company promoter and swindler, who committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London immediately following his conviction for fraud. == Early life == The eldest of five children, he was the son of James Wright, a Methodist Minister, and Matilda Whitaker, a tailor's daughter. He was born in Stafford, and spent his early years in various parts of England with his father. At an early age he was sent to Shireland Hall School in the Staffordshire town of Smethwick, a boarding establishment funded by charitable donations which catered for the sons of clergymen of all denominations. He was instructed in Latin and Greek and was taught how to use a printing press. In 1861, according to the census of that year, he was a printer in Ripon. Between 1866 and 1868, he was a Methodist preacher like his father, but retired due to ill health. He was also the elder brother of John Joseph Wright, who invented the reversible trolley pole, which transmitted electricity from an overhead wire to the motors of a tram or trolleybus. The brothers started a business as printers and stationers in Halifax, England in 1868 but it failed the following year. == Emigration, marriage and fortune == On the death of his father in 1870, the family emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.