John Boot

John Boot (1815 – 1860) was the founder of Boots the Chemists. His son Jesse Boot transformed the company into a retailer known throughout the world. Boot was born in Radcliffe on Trent in 1815 and studied at Tiffin School in Kingston. He was a farm worker until illness forced him to change career. Boot moved to Hockley Village. From the herbal remedies his mother made, Boot started up a trade of making and selling herbal remedies. Boot was not trained as a chemist and learned his later profession. He later married Mary Wills who gave birth to two children: Jesse and Jane. John's love of cricket led him to play for Nottinghamshire. In 1849 Boot opened his herbalist shop in Goose Gate, Nottingham, that would become the roots of the Boots UK empire. Even as a chemist, Boot's health did not improve and he died in 1860, leaving his wife and business behind. Mary Boot carried on with the business as M & J Boot, Herbalists.