Biography John Hughes (businessman)

1 biography

1.1 millwall iron works
1.2 foundation of donetsk
1.3 death , burial
1.4 post hughes

biography

hughes born in merthyr tydfil, wales, father head engineer @ cyfarthfa ironworks. there hughes started career, under father s supervision.

he moved ebbw vale, before joining uskside foundry in newport, monmouthshire, in 1840s. here hughes made reputation , fortune, patenting number of inventions in armaments , armour plating. resultant revenues allowed him acquire shipyard aged 28, , age of 36 owned foundry in newport. during time married elizabeth lewis, , had 8 children: 6 boys , 2 girls, born in newport.

millwall iron works

in mid-1850s, hughes moved london become manager of c.j.mare s forges , rolling mills, taken on millwall iron works & shipbuilding company, part of millwall iron works, shipbuilding , graving docks company. hughes director of company when floundered, , resultantly became manager of residual millwall iron works company. during period, various companies , successors won worldwide acclaim iron cladding of wooden warships british admiralty, hughes given of credit. in 1864 designed gun carriage heavy cannons, came used royal navy, navies of other european countries.

foundation of donetsk

hughes home in hughesovka, c.1900



same house in donetsk, 2006

in 1868, millwall iron works company received order imperial russian government plating of naval fortress being built @ kronstadt on baltic sea. hughes accepted concession imperial russian government develop metal works in region, , in 1869 acquired piece of land north of azov sea russian statesman sergei kochubey (son of viktor kochubey).

he formed new russia company ltd. raise capital, , in summer of 1870, @ age of 55, moved russian empire. sailed 8 ships, not equipment necessary establish metal works, of skilled labour; group of hundred ironworkers , miners south wales.

he started build metal works close river kalmius, @ site near village of alexandrovka. state-of-the-art works had 8 blast furnaces , capable of full production cycle, first pig iron cast in 1872. during 1870s, collieries , iron ore mines sunk, , brickworks , other facilities established make isolated works self-sufficient industrial complex. further built railway-line-producing factory. of hughes facilities held under novorussian society coal, iron , rails production.

the hughes factory gave name settlement grew in shadow, , town of hughesovka (yuzovka) grew rapidly. hughes provided hospital, schools, bath houses, tea rooms, fire brigade , anglican church dedicated patron saints st george , st david. land around metal works grew become industrial , cultural centre in region; population of city founded hughes exceeds 1 million.

over next twenty years, works prospered , expanded, first under john hughes , then, after death in 1889, under management of 4 of sons. amazingly, john hughes semi-literate - unable write , read capital letters.

death , burial

hughes died on 17 june during business trip st petersburg @ angleterre hotel. body repatriated uk burial; wife had predeceased him in 1880 , buried beside @ west norwood cemetery. several of sons buried there.

post hughes

by end of nineteenth century, works largest in russian empire, producing 74% of russian iron 1913. period of relative decline in years of twentieth century followed expansion during world war i. many of men accompanied john hughes settled in hughesovka , brought wives , families. on years, although russian workforce trained company, skilled workers united kingdom continued employed, , many technical, engineering , managerial positions filled british (and welsh) emigrants. thriving expatriate community established, living in quality company housing, , provided english school , anglican church. despite cold winters, hot summers , occasional cholera epidemics, families remained in hughesovka many years.

the bolshevik revolution of 1917 ended hughes family s connection works. hughes brothers , of foreign employees returned britain, few stayed on, , descendents still live in donetsk. works assumed bolsheviks in 1919. town of hughesovka renamed stalino in 1924, , donetsk in 1961. works survived , prospered, , donetsk remains major metallurgical industries centre.

in march 2014, following annexation of crimea russian federation, humorous campaign (ru) advocated donetsk join united kingdom because of city s connection hughes. shortly afterwards, ukraine lost control of donetsk militants of self-declared donetsk people s republic, declared city independent of ukraine , advocate integration russia.

also in 2014, instrumental song on welsh band manic street preachers album futurology paid homage him, referring donetsk former name.