Courtauld, Samuel (1793–1881)

English industrialist. In 1816 Courtauld founded the family textile business, which became known as Samuel Courtauld & Co, in Bocking, Essex. The company became the largest manufacturer of mourning crepe, which was highly fashionable in Victorian England.

Courtauld was the third in the family of that name, who were of French Huguenot origin and came to England in the late 17th century as refugees. His great-nephew, Samuel Courtauld (1876–1947), was chair of the firm from 1921, and in 1931 gave his house and art collection to the University of London as the Courtauld Institute. The institute is based in Somerset House, London.

Courtauld was born in Albany, New York, the eldest son of English silk manufacturer George Courtauld, who was the first member of the family to be involved with textiles. The family returned to England in 1793 and by 1807 Courtauld was working for the silk-throwing mills in Essex managed by his father; the first was in Pebmarsh and the second, in which his father became a partner, in Braintree. Courtauld left home in 1811 to work as a clerk in a London hardware firm, where his uncle was a partner, but returned to Bocking in 1816 to set up his own business. This was part of a scheme to rescue the family finances, which had been badly managed by his father, who later returned to the USA.

Courtauld acquired a lease on a water-powered mill at Bocking just at the time the silk industry experienced a sharp downturn. Although he had attempted to sell the business, it survived and in 1825 he bought an old corn mill for conversion into silk throwing at nearby Halstead. In 1828 he formed what was to be a long partnership, known at that time as Courtauld Taylors & Courtauld, with other family members. The company added handloom weaving, power loom weaving and dyeing, and the finishing of black silk crepe used for mourning to its silk-throwing activities. By the 1880s the company had over 3,000 employees, and was reputed to be the largest employer in its area; Courtauld was estimated to have an income of £46,000 per year.

Courtauld's family were Unitarian. Although in favour of social reform, Courtauld was opposed to legislative interference in business, such as the Factory Act of 1833. He supported the Whig Party and participated in the campaign that led to the abolition of rate payments for the upkeep of the Anglican Church. In 1854 he bought the Gosfield family estate in Essex.