John Henry Cordner-James

20th century English businessman

John Henry Cordner-James (30th July 1857 in Redruth, Cornwall – 20th April 1946 in Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a leading British businessman of the early 20th century and a mining pioneer with global interests.

Mining pioneer John Henry Cordner-James

## Life and career

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Born in 1857 as John Henry James, the son of Abraham Trewantha James & Johanna Grey, he changed his name by adding Cordner, ostensibly to differentiate himself from siblings William James and Alfred James in his family firm, James Bros.

He developed a prolific career as a gold mining engineer and consultant, travelling[1] extensively to Russia, Australia, South America and South Africa, and was one of the first owners of a motor car in England. In South Africa, Cordner-James notably formed the Gold Recovery Syndicate to acquire the patent rights to practice the MacArthur-Forrest gold cyanidation mining process in 1922.[2] In Australia he had various business interests with fellow director of the Oroya-Brownhill mining company, future US President Herbert Hoover.[3] In 1912 he was elected to the position of Vice President of the English Council of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.[4]

At the outbreak of World War One, he purchased future Beatles recording studio Abbey Road Studios, London, which he retained until 1929.[5]

Cordner-James suffered from arthritis towards the end of his life and in 1934 at the age of 76 built a new home near Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on account of its private location and low rainfall, which he lived in until his death in 1946.

## References

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1. ^ "Home | Green Card Organization". greencardorganization.com. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
2. ^ "Mining Magazine 1922". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
3. ^ "Australian mining and metallurgy 1907".
4. ^ "The Mining Magazine, Volume VI, 1912". Retrieved October 1, 2014.
5. ^ Abbey Road: The Story of the World's Most Famous Recording Studios. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0711991118.