Alfred Allen Booth


Sir Alfred Allen Booth, 1st Baronet was a British businessman and shipowner. A scion of the Booths of Dunham Massey, Cheshire, his great-grandfather moved to Liverpool in the mid-18th century.
Booth was created a baronet in 1916 by H. H. Asquith for supporting Britain's war effort and services to industry.

Biography

Early life

He was born on 17 September 1872, the son of Alfred Booth and Lydia Allen Butler. His maternal grandfather was Benjamin Franklin Butler, who served as the 12th Attorney General of the United States from 1833 to 1838.
Booth was educated at Harrow School, before going up to King's College Cambridge, where he graduated with the degree of Masters of Arts.

Career

Booth served on the board of directors of the Cunard Steamship Company and the Alfred Booth and Company. On 24 January 1916 he was granted a baronetcy, with the territorial designation of Allerton Beeches, City of Liverpool.
Sir Alfred received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Liverpool University.

Personal life

On 15 December 1903 Booth married Mary Blake Dwight. On 9 November 1925 he married secondly, to Margaret Lucy Brightwen. They had two sons, Sir Philip Booth, 2nd Baronet and Edmund Booth and one daughter, Sylvia Emily Booth. Sir Alfred died on 13 March 1948.
He was a cousin of fellow shipping manager Paul Crompton, who, along with his wife and children, died in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915.