Samuel Ryder

Businessman, born in Cheshire, NWC England, UK, the son of a nurseryman. He built up a prosperous business in St Albans, mainly through selling penny packets of seeds. In 1927 he donated the Ryder Cup, the trophy of the international golf match known by the same name, played by professional teams of British (now European) and American golfers.

Samuel Ryder was a resident of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. He was once described as "the laughing-stock of all the business men in St Albans"

He remains widely notable for two things: he donated the Ryder Cup, the trophy in the biennial golf contests between Europe and the United States;

Ryder was a keen golfer by accident.

The packeted seeds made his fortune. He started selling from his home in St Albans, assisted by his wife and daughter.

At this stage, he was joined by his brother, James.

He is also known locally as a former Mayor and a Deacon of what is now Trinity United Reformed Church.

When elected Mayor in 1905, he surprised his fellow councillors by a tough and uncomplementary assessment of the lack of achievement of the Council.

In St Albans, Samuel Ryder was a leading Non-conformist churchman. He joined the Congregational Church in Spicer Street in 1895 and was influential in the establishment of a new and larger Congregational church building - Trinity. When the new church opened in 1903, there was a Civic procession and service at the church. Despite this, there was a significant divide between Anglicans (Church of England) and Non-conformists, which was accentuated in St Albans - adherents of each denomination would not trade with the other.

Ryder made generous donations to Trinity, assisting with clearing its debts, donating to the construction of a Church Hall and gifting land.

He died after a haemorrhage during the annual family Christmas outing to a hotel in London.