Pilkington, Sir Alastair (, originally Lionel Alexander Bethune Pilkington) 1920 -- 1995

Glass manufacturer, born in Newbury, Berkshire, S England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, joined the family firm of glass-makers, and in 1952 conceived the idea of float glass as a method of manufacturing plate glass without having to grind it to achieve a satisfactory finish. His team successfully introduced the new technique of pouring glass straight from the furnace on to the surface of a bath of molten tin. Director of Pilkington plc (formerly Pilkington Brothers) of St Helens in 1955, he became president of the firm in 1985. He was knighted in 1970, and acted as Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University (1980--90).

Beecham, Sir Thomas 1879 -- 1961
Conductor and impresario, born in St Helens, Merseyside,

NW England, UK. He studied at Oxford, travelled extensively, and began his career as conductor with the New Symphony Orchestra in 1906. He soon branched out as a producer of opera, introducing British audiences to Diaghilev's Russian ballet. He was principal conductor (1932) and artistic director (1933) of Covent Garden, and in 1943 was conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. In 1944 he returned to Britain, having married Betty Humby (d.1958), the pianist. In 1947 he founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted at Glyndebourne (1948--9). He did much to foster the works of Delius, Sibelius, and Richard Strauss, and was noted for his candid pronouncements on musical matters, his "Lollipop' encores, and his after-concert speeches.

Lyon, John 1962 --
Boxer, born in St Helens, Merseyside, NW England, UK.

An outstanding amateur boxer, he is the only man to win eight Amateur Boxing Association titles -- the light-flyweight title in 1981--4, and the flyweight title in 1986--9. He also won the 1986 Commonwealth Games flyweight title.

Gamble, Josias Christopher 1776 -- 1848
Industrialist, born in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

He was a founder with James Muspratt (1793--1886) of the British chemical industry based in the St Helens area near Liverpool. A graduate in theology from Glasgow, he spent a period as a cleric before manufacturing chemicals in Dublin and then in Glasgow, and most profitably in partnership with Muspratt in St Helens, making bleaching powder, soda ash, and sulphuric acid.