Born on this day, Sir David Brown, English entrepreneur, managing director of his family firm David Brown Limited and one time owner of shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft and automobile manufacturer Aston Martin


Tuesday 10th May 1904

Born on this day, Sir David Brown, English entrepreneur, managing director of his family firm David Brown Limited and one time owner of shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft and automobile manufacturer Aston Martin.

In 1947, Brown saw a classified advertisement in The Times, offering for sale a “High Class Motor Business”. Brown acquired Aston Martin for £20,500 and, in the following year, Lagonda for £52,500, followed by the coachbuilder Tickford in 1955. He subsequently concentrated all the Aston Martin manufacturing at the Tickford premises in Newport Pagnell.

The legendary ‘DB’ series of Aston Martin cars, including the Atom, the DB1 (2 Litre Sports), the DB2, the DB3, the DB4, the DB5, the DB6, DBS were named after Brown using his initials. Ironically, while at the helm of the Aston Martin company, he actually used a rival product, a Jaguar XJ Series I, as personal transport. Aston Martin was sold off in the 1970s when the company was in financial difficulties.


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