Sir Samuel Morton Peto, Bt | |
|---|---|
 Historical photo of Morton Peto | |
| Born | 4 August 1809 Woking, Surrey, England |
| Died | 13 November 1889 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Civil engineering contractor |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Grissell (four children) Sarah Ainsworth Kelsall (11 children) |
| Children | 15 |
Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he managed construction firms that built many of London's major buildings and monuments, including the Reform Club, The Lyceum Theatre, Nelson's Column and the replacement Houses of Parliament - commissions which brought him great wealth.[1] The scale of his operations, and that of the workforce needed to undertake them, made him the world's largest employer.[2]
As a partner in Peto and Betts, he then became one of the major contractors in the building of the rapidly expanding railways of the time. Along with a small group of other Master Builders in London he is credited as a founding member of the Chartered Institute of Building in 1834.[3]
- ^ "Harold Peto (1854-1933)". greatbritishgardens.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Samuel Peto - The Newham Story". newhamstory.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Our History". Chartered Institute of Building. Retrieved 20 December 2020.