Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray

Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray,, known as Sir Weetman Pearson, Bt from 1894 to 1910 and as Lord Cowdray from 1910 to 1927, was an English industrialist, benefactor and Liberal politician. He built S. Pearson & Son from a Yorkshire contractor into an international builder and created the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company, a leading early 20th century oil producer. After selling Mexican Eagle in 1919, he reorganised his interests around Whitehall Securities, purchased a stake in Lazard Brothers, and expanded into newspapers. This latter move set the course for the later Pearson group's focus on publishing.