Thomas Blake Glover (June 6, 1838 - December 13, 1911), was born in Fraserburgh in north east Scotland, moving to Bridge of Don, near Aberdeen six years later.
Upon leaving school, he entered into employment with a trading company and travelled widely.
His first major success was as a merchant for ships and gunpowder in Japan during the 1860s. His business was based in Nagasaki and it was here that he had constructed the first western style building in Japan.
He assisted in toppling the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Meiji Restoration and as such, had cordial relations with the new government. These links lead to him being responsible for commissioning the first iron-clad warship in the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Jho Sho Maru ) which was built in Aberdeen.
He was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan, founding a shipbuilding company, which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. He was also responsible for bringing the first railway locomotive to Japan.
In recognition of these achievments, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, the first non-Japanese to recieve such an honour..
Glover's Japanese wife is said to have been the inspiration behind the libretto for Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly.
His former residences in Nagasaki and Aberdeen have both since been turned into museums, with the house in Nagasaki attracting over 1 million visitors each year.
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