1. Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet was an English manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a large textile mill, together with the attached village of Saltaire, West Yorkshire.
Titus Salt was born in 1803 to Daniel Salt, a drysalter, and Grace Smithies, daughter of Isaac Smithies, of Old Manor House, Morley where the Salt family were to live.
In 1813, the Titus Salt family moved to a farm at Crofton near Wakefield and Daniel became a sheep farmer.
Titus Salt made a long-standing friend at the day school - his teacher, Enoch Harrison.
Whilst father Daniel set up as a dealer in wool, Titus Salt spent two years learning about textile manufacture at William Rouse and Sons before joining his father's company which traded in Russian Donskoi wool amongst others.
Titus Salt encouraged the Bradford spinners to use Donskoi in worsted manufacture, with no success.
The first documentary record of Titus Salt encountering the wool is in his Day Book.
Titus Salt came upon bales of alpaca wool in a warehouse in Liverpool and, after taking some samples away to experiment, came back and bought the consignment.
Yet Titus Salt was deeply religious and sincerely believed that, by creating an environment where people could lead healthy, virtuous, godly lives, he was doing God's work.
Titus Salt was a politically active and conscientious citizen, arguing for change and financially supporting it.
Titus Salt became the second Mayor of Bradford, in office from 1848 to 1849, and was one of the first borough magistrates.
In 1857, Titus Salt was President of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce.
From 1859 until he retired through ill health on 1 February 1861, Titus Salt served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Bradford.
At the 1859 hustings which would choose him as the party's candidate, Titus Salt spoke of the political positions he had taken in his life: Mr Titus Salt then came forward and said he had always been of the opinion that the intelligent working classes were entitled to the exercise of the franchise.
Titus Salt was an advocate of peace; of non-interference in European politics.
Titus Salt believed the ballot was necessary for the protection of the working classes who possessed votes.
In 1867, Titus Salt provided the funds to pay for the first Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat to be stationed at Stromness, Orkney.
On 21 August 1830, Titus Salt married Caroline, daughter of George Whitlam, of Great Grimsby.
In 1876 Titus Salt died at his home, Crow Nest, Lightcliffe, near Halifax.