Born: Albert de Lande Long was born in Ipswich on 13th September 1844. His parents were Peter Long, a barrister, and Hannah Falkland.
Educated: Albert attended Queen Elizabeth’s School, Ipswich. He served his apprenticeship with Ransome and Sims of Ipswich (later Ransome, Sims and Jefferies) who specialised in agricultural machinery.
Married: On 9th August 1875 Albert de Lande Long married Susanna Kelso of South Shields.
Family: Albert and Susanna Long had four children: Dorothy, Marjorie, Albert and Diana.
Home: Leaving Ipswich in 1869, Long went to Preston where he worked for a firm making railway carriages. In 1872 he moved to Stockton to take up a position as an assistant engineer at Whitwell’s Thornaby Ironworks. He lived with his young family in a villa on Yarm Road, Stockton. When he stood down as Chairman of Dorman Long and Company, he moved to Crosby Cote, Northallerton.
Known for: As a young man, Albert de Lande Long was a highly successful member of the London Rowing Club. In the “golden age” of the 1860s, he was a member of the club’s most famous “four”. This crew enjoyed considerable success at the famous annual regatta at Henley-on-Thames. In 1875, in partnership with Arthur Dorman, Long acquired the West Marsh Ironworks near Newport in Middlesbrough. In 1879 they took control of the nearby Britannia Ironworks. In 1891 Albert de Lande Long stood down as Chairman of Dorman Long and Company but the company he had helped to create went on to become one of the world’s largest steel manufacturers.
Died: Albert de Lande Long died at Crosby Cote, Northallerton, on 23rd February 1917, seven years before the company he founded won the contract for its most prestigious achievement, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Further Information: “Albert de Lande Long J.P. (1844-1917)”, Ian Stubbs, Cleveland History volume 95 (2008)