1864–1930 · Scottish whisky distiller, MP and peer · called in 1927 the “King of Epigrammatists”
Tommy Dewar (6 January 1864 – 11 April 1930) was the salesman half of the Scottish whisky family that built Dewar’s into an international brand, travelling the world to open new markets while his brother John ran the home office. He sat as an MP from 1900 to 1906, was knighted in 1902, made a baronet in 1917, and created Baron Dewar in 1919. He was also a professional wit: by November 1927 Pearson’s Magazine was collecting “The Witty Sayings of Lord Dewar, King of Epigrammatists” — and this line sat among them.