William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes

William Edward Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes GBE was a British motor manufacturer. He opened his first car sales agency in 1913, leading to the global Rootes Group. During the Second World War he supervised the volume manufacture of aircraft and engines, as well as the supply of military motor vehicles and armoured fighting vehicles. He was knighted in 1942 for these services and for organising the reconstruction of bomb-damaged Coventry after its saturation bombing by the Luftwaffe on 14–15 November 1940. In the 1950s, he became a leader of Britain's export drive, and chaired a committee to found the University of Warwick with a vision of academic links with industry. The Rootes Social Building and halls of residence were built at the university c. 1966, named posthumously in his honour.

17 August 1894

Born on the same birth day (17 August): Alexander Ivashkin • Don Sweeney • Geoffrey Elton • Johann, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen • Lennart Torstensson • Lil B • Mahboob Ali Khan • Maria McKee • Mark Dinning • Martin Sandberger • Mike Lewis (musician) • Roy Tattersall • Sean Penn

Born in the same month (August 1894): Albert Facey • Bertha Lutz • Christian Schad • Frank Burge • George Meany • John Auden • Karl Böhm • Ottavio Bottecchia • Sparky Adams