Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-03
MOURNS
DEATH OF Upton
Reports Current That Chair
I ties Will Receive Estate
of YachtSman.
ey the Associated Press.

LONDON, OCTOBER Sine 0eatn OF
Sir Thomas Upton, who was the
worlds finest loser" as yachtsman,
was mourned today by Britons from the
exclusive confines of the royal yacht
squadron to the slums of his native
Glasgow.
AS plans for his funeral went for
ward there was much speculation as to
the size Of his estate and who would
inherit 1t. He never married and was
the last OF his family.
The old rumor that he had set aside
o large sum years ago to be used in
carrying on the assaults against the
America Cup after his death was re-
!juvenated, but it was too early for def
mite information.
The reports were current that several
charitable institutions would benefit by
his will, but they apparently were based
on membranes of his philanthropic
disposition and his gift Of nearly $780,
1000 to the poor OF London on the oc-
casion of Queen Victorias jubilee.
Liberal Supporter Of Charities.
He had been a liberal supporter of
charities ever since.
Although he was reputed to be many
times a millionaire, some observers held
that his estate likely would prove less
valuable than popularity SurmiSed be-
ICause Of his many gifts and the i'm
,n1ense sums spent on his line of Sham
brock yachts.
This afternoon Ambassador Charles
&. Dawes conveyed President Hoover'S
sympathy on the death of "a distin-
tguiShed British subject, whose spirit of
ktrue craftsmanship and whose friend
sShip with the United States won the
whole respect of the American
people"
( The 80-year odd yachtsman, as pop
5ular in the United States as he was at
nome became gravely i'll from the eff
Fleets Of chill contracted several days
ago
He died peacefully in his sleep with
several old friends at the bedside.
His secretary announced the death
in the following statement
Il regret to announce that slight i'm
provement noted in Sir Thomas con-
edition early this morning was not main
ttained and that he died peacefully in
his sleep at tbs O'Clock this eve
ming.
ersl of his old friends were present
The cause of death was heart failure.
Funeral arrangements will be an
nounced later"
Hhsb ChdhChkC HI 1888.
Several notable attempts to recapture
the cup had been made before Upton
took up the quest in 1899, but all Of
Athem were failures. Just a year before
the twentieth century rolled around, Sir
5Thomas appeared off Sandy Hook with
his yacht Shamrock I, first of the five
J famous Shamrock sisters that always
| proved a mite too slow for the Amer
ican-built defenders.
Columbia was chosen by the New
; York Yacht Club to beat the Shamrock,
and proved herself full worthy of the
confidence.
THE best boat won, but I'll try again"
were the words of Sir Thomas as he
sailed away, and try again he did.
His second challenge was issued and
accepted in 1900, when Shamrock II
was ready for the fray He was de-
.6eated again, whereupon Sir Thomas,
his optimism mistaken, began thinking
OF Shamrock III. This craft was brought
to America in 1908. The New York
Yacht Club had built the Swift Reliance
to defend its honored trophy, and the
defense was perfect.
Won Two Heats in 1920.
Then came the great contest of 1920.
when Shamrock and Resolute were
pitted against each other for what
=. proved to be the most spectacular of all
the international races since the British
defeat in 1851. Sir Thomas actually
won two of the five races, and had the
satisfaction of seeing one of his Sham
rocks cross the finish line a victor for
the first time since he began racing in
America. His last futile challenge
ended in another defeat last Summer.
Sir Thomas was born May 10, 1851,
at Glasgow. Scotland, of Irish parents
While still boy he slowed away on
steamer landed in America and worked
for while on rice plantation in
South Carolina. Making his way to
New York two years later he found
work and soon had sufficient money to
pay his way by Steerage back to GlaS-
gov, where he landed without funds
but with a head full OF American ideas
He persuaded his parents to open a
small provision store. advertised boldly
and extensively, and soon made his
name known throughout Glasgow.
Controlled SEQ Stores.
The shop prospered and soon another
one was opened modelled exactly after
the first. After a few years he had a
whole string of shops in Glasgow and
was growing rich. At the height Of his
business career he controlled more than
600 stores in England America and
other parts of the world
In order to supply his retail stores more
directly, Upton bought tea plantation
In Ceylon, to which he later added a
coffee plantation and then a cocoa
grove. Finding these investments profit
able. he continued to purchase planta-
tions. and soon his teas were known
around the world.
A self-made man, Lipton's first recog-
milton from the British royal family
came in 1897. when he was knighted for
contributing G25 900 to supply the tea
drunk by 100000 poverty-st. icken Lon
doners during the week of Queen Vic
toria's jubilee. In 1901 he was created
knight commander Of the Victorian Or
der, and a year later was made
baronet. He was personal friend of
the late King Edward VII.
Z Sir Thomas persistence in his efforts
TO lift the cup" despite defeats and
his unfailing good-fellowship won him
many friends and thousands of admir-
ers in America.
Was GameSt Loser.
YachtSman and tea merchant, Sir
Thomas tombstone Upton spent more
than 80 years of his life and $l0,000,000