History
The Dowler family was engaged in the brass founding business since the late-18th century and had been making whistles since the early 1860s at least. In 1876, the company was named after William Dowler, following protracted legal fights concerning inheritance between the brothers George and William Dowler.
In 1870, a large fire that started at the vesta match-making department destroyed the factory, halting production for over half a year. The tragedy was well-covered by the newspapers at the time, as Dowler was one of only 20 Birmingham companies employing more than 500 workers.
The company was located at 91 Great Charles Street and later Graham Street Works (beginning in 1897). The button factory exists to this day as W Dowler & Sons Ltd. 11-15 Brearley Street, Birmingham 19.
Read more about this topic: W Dowler & Sons
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“A man will not need to study history to find out what is best for his own culture.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)