John Benjamin Stone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir John Benjamin Stone (February 9, 1838 - July 2, 1914), known as Benjamin, was born in Aston, Birmingham the son of a local glass manufacturer. He succeeded to the business on the death of his father.
He was a local Conservative politician, founder of the Birmingham Conservative Association and MP for Birmingham East from 1895 to 1909. He was a member of the Sutton Coldfield Corporation for many years and was the first Mayor of the town in 1886 when the new Municipal Corporation was created; a post he held for four years. He was knighted in 1892 and was appointed High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield in 1902.
He was also a prolific amateur photographer who travelled widely in pursuit of his hobby. The Benjamin Stone Collection housed in the Birmingham City Library contains many thousands of examples of his work. In 1895 founded the National Photographic Record Association. The National Portrait Gallery holds 62 of his portraits and many photographs of people and places in and around Westminster. His amateur career culminated in 1911 with his appointment as official photographer to the coronation of King George V.
