John Biggs

John Biggs (11 April 1801 – 4 June 1871) was a British hosier and Liberal and Radical politician. Early life and business Biggs was born in Leicester, the oldest of the seven children of John Biggs (1774–1827) and his wife Elizabeth Heggs (1780–1862). John Biggs the elder had come to the town from Withybrook in Warwickshire at the end of the eighteenth century and set up a small hosiery business. Young John and his three brothers, Thomas, William and Joseph, joined the business and built it up to such an extent that, by the time of their father's death in 1827, John Biggs and Sons was one of the largest firms in Leicester, with exports to North America and Australia. In Biggs's hands, the business innovated in hosiery and glovemaking, and invested heavily in equipping a steam-powered factory. Political career