Joseph Storrs Fry was an English chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 and confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 manufacturer and a member of the Fry Family

Fry Family (Chocolate)

The Fry family was prominent in England especially Bristol, in the Society of Friends, and in the confectionery business in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.-Origins:...

 of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Early life

He was born in 1767, son of Joseph Fry (1728-1787) and his wife Anna. His father had started a number of businesses including an experimental chocolate factory, Fry, Vaughan and Company.

Career

In 1795, he assumed control of his parents' chocolate business, now known as Anna Fry & Sons. He patented a method of grinding cocoa beans using a Watt steam engine

Watt steam engine

The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum...

 resulting in factory techniques being introduced into the cocoa business, building a plant in Union Street, Bristol. He moved to Grove House (now Riverwood House), Frenchay

Frenchay

Frenchay is a suburb of Bristol, England, to the north east of the city, but located mainly in South Gloucestershire and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne....

 in 1800. In 1803, his mother, Anna Fry, died and Joseph Storrs Fry partnered with a Dr Hunt and renamed the business Fry & Hunt.

Dr Hunt retired in 1822 and Joseph Storrs Fry took his sons, Joseph (1795-1879), Francis (1803-1886) and Richard (1807-1878) on as partners renaming the firm J. S. Fry & Sons

J. S. Fry & Sons

J. S. Fry & Sons, Ltd. was a British chocolate company owned by Joseph Storrs Fry and his family.This business moved through several names and hands before ending up as J. S. Fry & Sons.- History :*circa 1759 — Joseph Fry starts making chocolate...

under which name it became the largest commercial producer of chocolate in Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

.

Death

He died in 1835 and his sons took full control of the firm, ultimately passing to his grandson Joseph Storrs Fry II

Joseph Storrs Fry II

Joseph Storrs Fry was a member of the Bristol Fry family, head of the family chocolate firm of J. S. Fry & Sons and a philanthropist....

 (1826-1913). He was buried behind the Frenchay Quaker Meeting House along with his wife and daughter Priscilla.