John Sharp may have been born in Ireland in about 1792
- some sources referring to him as Irish. Douglas, his mother’s maiden
name, was an addition he made in Germany, where her father was an
innkeeper in Hamburg.
In 1821, by then a soap boiler in Govan,
Glasgow, John Sharp (c.1792 – 1847), set sail for Hamburg and opened a
soap factory with a small shop on the side. He would pioneer soap
production with scents and oils, while cultivating a strong brand that
would stand the test of time.
John Sharp had enrolled for a
Chemistry class in 1817 under Robert Cleghorn, lecturer of Chemistry at
Glasgow University. This was the same year in which the Chair of
Chemistry was founded by King George III, and Thomas Thomson, “the first
teacher of practical chemistry”, was appointed.
John Sharp can
certainly be considered an advocate of practical chemistry, knowledge
which he employed 3 years later upon his arrival in Hamburg. His company
would serve the ever increasing demand for “toilet soaps”, and make him
his fortune in the booming Hanseatic city. His “chemical stroke of
genius” that made him famous came in 1830, when he revolutionised soap
making with his invention of the coconut oil soda soap.
The
business was a continued success, but Douglas’ untimely death in 1847,
meant that his children, from his marriage with the daughter of a
Hamburg innkeeper, had to take over. Theodor Hopff took over management
temporarily until two of the sons, Thomas and Alexander, were of age to
run the business. Operating as J S Douglas & Söhne since 1850, the sons
took over in 1863; Thomas was responsible for the manufacturing and
Alexander for the business side, and together they modernised and
internationalised the family company.
It was only in 1878, with
Thomas’ unexplained resignation, that Alexander had to sell the company
in order to secure its continued success in an increasingly competitive
market, but the new owners, both Hamburg merchants, retained the company
name and continued to benefit from the past branding, marketing and
reputation of the firm. The Carsten sisters entered into contract with
the soap factory in 1910, to use the name Douglas to “establish and
operate a business in soaps, perfumery products, and toiletries in
Hamburg.” And on 1 June 1910, the sisters opened the “Parfümerie
Douglas” on Hamburg’s most expensive shopping boulevard – Neuer Wall –
and the 100 year Jubilee was celebrated in 2010 by the company whose
proud history started with the soap boiler from Govan.
The Sharp
Douglas brothers returned to the place where their grandfather had left
in 1820.
Alexander's sons, John's grandsons, Alexander,
John and George were all students at Glasgow University.
Alexander Sharp Douglas, brother of George and John Sharp Douglas,
attended the University in 1886. He was born in Hamburg, and was the
grandson of John Sharp. Alexander enrolled at the University for one
year in 1886 to study Mathematics under Professor William Jack, citing
his hometown as Hamburg.
John Sharp Douglas, born in Hamburg,
attended the University between 1889 and 1897 to study Medicine.
George Sharp Douglas studied at the University from 1892 to 1896. He was
born in Hamburg, Germany. He resided in Cardross and later Greenock
while studying at the University, joining his brothers, George and John.
He took an Arts course, attending classes in Latin, German, Mathematics,
Logic, English Literature, followed by two years of Physics, Chemistry
and Zoology.
See also:
The
Douglas Group
|
