Samuel Brain
Samuel Arthur Brain was a brewery entrepreneur in Cardiff, Wales, founder of Brain's Brewery. He was also a JP and local councillor, becoming an alderman and Mayor of Cardiff.
Background
Brain was born in Bristol on 4 May 1850, to Samuel Brain, a timber merchant, and his wife, Emma who were both Welsh. He married in 1872 the daughter of Mr J. Thomas, the owner of Cardiff's Old Brewery.Brain's Brewery
By 1882, Brain was running the Phoenix Brewery in Working Street, Cardiff. In December 1882 with the help of his uncle Joseph Benjamin Brain, he purchased the long-established Old Brewery, St Mary Street, from his brother-in-law, John G. Thomas. The business went from producing 100 barrels of beer a week for its 11 licensed public houses, to producing 1,000 barrels of beer and owning 80 public houses in 1900. In 1897 the business became a limited company, S. A. Brain & Co. Ltd, which paid £350,000 for the brewery. Samuel Brain became chairman and managing director.Politics and public service
Prior to his heavy involvement in business, Brain was a member of the Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers, becoming a sergeant. He later became captain of the No. 7 Company and ultimately a major in the No. 11 Company before his death.Brain was persuaded to stand for elected office in 1885 and became a Conservative councillor on Cardiff Town Council for the Canton ward. After ward boundary changes in 1891, Brain was elected councillor for the Grangetown ward, despite it being a 'Radical' supporting, working class district. As an alderman of the county borough, he chaired the Cardiff County Borough Council finance committee. In November 1899 he was elected Mayor of Cardiff, serving for 12 months.