Alfred Bossom, Baron Bossom
Alfred Charles Bossom, Baron Bossom RIBA (* 6. October 1881 in London , † 4. September 1965 ) was a British architect , peer and politician of the Conservative Party .
life and career
Bossom was born in London to Alfred Henry and Amelia Jane (Hammond) Bossom. He attended Charterhouse St. Thomas School , after which he studied architecture at the University of Westminster and the Royal Academy of Arts . He went to the United States in 1903 to work for the Carnegie Steel Company and in 1908 to work on the restoration of Fort Ticonderoga . In 1910 he married Emily Bayne, the daughter of the banker Samuel Bayne; they had three sons. His wife died in a plane crash in 1932. He married Elinor Dittenhofer in 1934 but divorced her in 1947.
While working in New York City, he designed a number of major structures in Texas, such as the American Exchange National Bank (1918).
He invented a device that protects people from suffocating who are accidentally locked in a bank vault.
At the height of his career, he returned to England with his family in 1926 so that his children could attend an English school. He gave up his architectural career and was elected Member of Parliament for Maidstone in 1931.
In 1952 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Law by the University of Pittsburgh. In 1953 he was named "Baronet of Maidstone, Kent. In 1960 he was given the title of Baron Bossom of Maidstone, Kent. Bossom was also President of the Anglo-Baltic Society. Winston Churchill joked at the introduction of Bossom Who is This Man." , whose name means neither one thing nor the other? (Who is this man whose name means neither one thing nor the other?).
Works
- 1914: Fidelity Bank (Durham, Durham County)
- 1914: Merchants Bank (Durham, Durham County)
- 1918: American Exchange National Bank (Texas)
- 1919: Charlotte National Bank (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County)
- 1920: First Union National Bank (Salisbury, Rowan County)
- 1920: Woodson House (Salisbury, Rowan County)
- 1922: Magnolia Hotel (Dallas, Texas)
- 1923–1924: Wayne National Bank (Goldsboro, Wayne County)
- 1925: Liberty Building (Buffalo, New York)
Web links
- Alfred Bossom at Hansard (English)
- ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bossom, Alfred, Baron Bossom |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bossom, Alfred C .; Bossom, Alfred Charles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British architect, peer and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1881 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th September 1965 |