George Palmer (18 January 1818 – 19 August 1897) was a British entrepreneur, being mostly known as proprietor of the Huntley & Palmers biscuit manufacturers of Reading in England.
Family life
Palmer was born in Long Sutton in Somerset, the eldest son of William Palmer and his wife, Mary, the daughter of William Isaac of Sturminster Newton in Dorset.[1] Both were Quaker families. His wife was a first cousin of Cyrus Clark and James Clark who founded the shoemakers C. & J. Clark.[2]
His father died in 1826, and he was educated at Sidcot School near Weston-super-Mare, before becoming an apprentice to his uncle, who was a miller and confectioner.
He married Elizabeth Sarah Meteyard in 1850. They had had six sons and four daughters. One daughter Emily married the evolutionary biologist Edward Bagnall Poulton, whilst his daughter Alice married the