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320:. Bigham was one of the most astute corporate law experts in England, and Isaacs was an expert in stock market procedure, having previously worked as a broker. The government, when studying the confusion of Wright's paper trail, could not see a successful government prosecution; instead the prosecution was brought by the stockholders. With a prosecutor exposing the various financial tricks that Wright pulled for the jury, and a jurist patiently explaining points about finance, Wright's attempts at obfuscation were defeated.
33:
289:). The line had been difficult and costly to construct. Why Wright sought to get involved in the company is contentious; he was a mining engineer, not a construction or railroad engineer. It is likely that Wright believed he would be able to cap his career in City finance if he were knighted for his public spirited activity. In any case the bond issue was a disaster — Wright found it strained his resources, and few people were willing to subscribe. It started the collapse of the entire Wright group.
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prosperity of his group, there would be no dividends, people became suspicious. In
December 1900, the companies collapsed. Wright fled, but was brought back to stand trial. The shock waves led to a panic in London's exchange. There were other losses. The humiliated Marquess of Dufferin and Ava died in 1902 in the midst of the investigation.
372:, creating three lakes, the largest of which covered fifty acres of farmland. Wright's wide-ranging landscaping works raised local concerns of their impact on the local economy and the natural landscape. In Thursley Lake he had an underwater smoking room built beneath a roof aquarium. Following his death, Witley Park was purchased by
331:
in a court anteroom immediately afterward. The inquest also revealed that he had been carrying a revolver in his pocket, presumably as a backup; he was never searched, as the security was weaker at the Royal Courts, which were Civil Courts. The trial was held there as it was deemed likelier that the
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At this point Wright made his criminal error. To maintain an image of solvency and success, Wright kept pushing thousands of pounds from one of his companies to another in a series of "loans". This led to some misrepresentations on balance sheets. But when he announced that, despite the apparent
238:
Wright's career as a swindler peaked in the 1890s, when he formed the London and Globe
Company which floated a variety of stock and bond issues dealing with mining. Wright called some of these stocks "consols", the term used by the British government for state bond issues that were solid and
195:, 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
278:. In fact Reid became the trustee for Mrs. Wright in the financier's will; later this would lead to financial difficulties for the physician for neglecting her interests in the events connected to Wright's fall. Reid eventually had to pay Mrs. Wright ÂŁ5,000.
332:
special jury required would be less prejudiced against the accused than a normal jury at the Old Bailey criminal court, which was in the city. In spite of his financial misconduct, there was a great outburst of grief at his funeral at
247:. This served the purpose both of impressing the public and attracting wealthy investors. Wright also sought to make a place for himself in late Victorian English Society, buying the Lea Park estate in Surrey, which he renamed
203:, transmitting 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.
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199:. 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
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reliable. He loaded the directorships of his companies with peers of the realm; for instance, the
Chairman of the London and Globe Company was the
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who extended the estate further. The remainder of the estate was divided into lots for sale, and funds raised locally enabled the purchase of
838:
511:
253:
187:, 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
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Everything was apparently working well in Wright's empire, when in 1900 he sought to float a bond issue for the building of the
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219:, US where he met and married Anna Edith Weightman in 1878. Wright made a fortune by promoting silver-mining companies in
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712:
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Wright returned to
England, and promoted a multitude of Australian and Canadian mining companies on the London market.
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Ask Sir James: Sir James Reid, Personal
Physician to Queen Victoria and Physician-in-Ordinary to Three Monarchs
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417:
674:
818:
271:
813:
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512:"WHITAKER WRIGHT COMMITS SUICIDE IN COURT AFTER HEARING SENTENCE CONDEMNING HIM TO PENAL SERVITUDE"
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A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top: Fraud and Deceit in the Golden Age of
American Mining
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Whitaker Wright was popularised along with his fictional great-grandson in a 2006 episode of
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Ultimate Folly - the Rises and Falls of
Whitaker Wright the World's Most Shameless Swindler
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Website devoted to the life and times of
Whitaker Wright at www.whitakerwright.co.uk
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was fascinated by the fall of Wright, and it influenced the writer's novels
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368:. Whitaker Wright began to develop his new properties as a single estate,
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Australian
Prospectors & Miners Hall of Fame entry on Whitaker Wright
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316:; the prosecution was led by one of the best barristers of the day,
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227:, although none of the companies made money for the shareholders.
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Drawings, photographs, and editorial cartoons of
Whitaker Wright
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and given a seven-year prison sentence. He committed suicide by
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The eldest of five children, he was the son of James Wright, a
160:(9 February 1846 – 26 January 1904) was a company promoter and
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251:, and building a large mansion. Wright also owned the yacht
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On the death of his father in 1870, the family emigrated to
183:, and Matilda Whitaker, a tailor's daughter. He was born in
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In 1890 Wright purchased an estate named Lea Park between
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in London immediately following his conviction for fraud.
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On 26 January 1904, Wright was convicted of fraud at the
665:
Plazak, Dan (2010). "Whitaker Wright's House of Cards".
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Lord Reading and his Cases, the Study of a Great Career
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352:, Surrey, and the adjacent South Park Farm from the
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Wright became a friend and financial adviser to Sir
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305:Grave of Whitaker Wright at All Saints' Church,
356:. Ownership of these properties granted Wright
779:Lost Heritage—Witley Park—History and Gallery
543:West Gippsland [Victoria, BC] Gazette
492:. No. 40368. 13 November 1913. p. 8
312:The trial took place in January 1904, before
267:of Germany) before the Royal Yacht Squadron.
16:English fraudster and businessman (1846–1904)
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774:BBC Southern Counties on Whitaker Wright
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541:"Whittaker Wright: His Home at Lea",
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839:19th-century English businesspeople
215:, Canada. Wright then travelled to
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703:. Viking–Penguin Books. pp.
283:Baker Street and Waterloo Railway
207:Emigration, marriage and fortune
37:Drawing of Whitaker Wright, 1904
380:, which was transferred to the
164:, who committed suicide at the
644:The Illustrated Story of Crime
534:
504:
461:
339:
285:(now the London Underground's
115:James Wright, Matilda Whitaker
1:
829:Suicides by cyanide poisoning
724:"The Fall of Whitaker Wright"
598:The Making of Whitaker Wright
484:"The Creation of a Deer Park"
418:The World of William Clissold
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722:Walker Smith, Derek (1934).
675:The University of Utah Press
274:, the personal physician to
241:Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
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769:profile on Whitaker Wright
620:As Berry and I Were Saying
596:Hamilton, Douglas (2018).
470:at www.miningswindles.com
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147:seven years imprisonment
824:Suicides in Westminster
573:Macrory, Henry (2018).
325:Royal Courts of Justice
225:Lake Valley, New Mexico
166:Royal Courts of Justice
76:Royal Courts of Justice
642:(1977). "City Cases".
426:References and sources
336:, where he is buried.
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358:Lordship of the Manor
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257:which beat the yacht
158:James Whitaker Wright
25:James Whitaker Wright
834:People from Stafford
600:. Douglas Hamilton.
374:William, Lord Pirrie
107:Anna Edith Weightman
558:, pp. 103–108.
401:"Ties That Bind Us"
263:(which belonged to
221:Leadville, Colorado
88:Cause of death
819:English fraudsters
734:pp. 133–154.
650:. pp. 46–50.
648:Barnes & Noble
624:Ward Lock & Co
518:. 27 January 1904.
516:San Francisco Call
388:In popular culture
366:Devil's Punch Bowl
329:swallowing cyanide
314:Mr. Justice Bigham
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814:Burials in Surrey
732:The Macmillan Co.
684:978-0-87480-840-7
640:Lustgarten, Edgar
588:978-1-78590-378-6
531:, pp. 47–49.
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360:and control of
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494:. Retrieved
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70:(1904-01-26)
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809:1904 deaths
799:1846 births
412:Tono-Bungay
407:H. G. Wells
370:Witley Park
340:Witley Park
249:Witley Park
243:, a former
80:Westminster
793:Categories
529:Yates 1952
431:References
272:James Reid
172:Early life
49:1846-02-09
496:10 August
489:The Times
350:Haslemere
346:Godalming
193:Smethwick
178:Methodist
112:Parent(s)
99:convicted
82:, England
59:, England
695:(1987).
618:(1952).
579:Biteback
362:Hindhead
254:Sybarita
191:town of
185:Stafford
181:Minister
162:swindler
57:Stafford
705:228–230
566:Sources
399:titled
144:Penalty
91:Suicide
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396:Hustle
334:Witley
307:Witley
260:Meteor
223:, and
104:Spouse
197:Ripon
139:Fraud
736:ISBN
709:ISBN
679:ISBN
652:ISBN
602:ISBN
583:ISBN
498:2019
415:and
348:and
65:Died
43:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
