Early Life, Family and Training William Stott was born on 20 November 1857 in Oldham, Lancashire, England. He grew up in a household shaped by the local industry, as his father was an owner of a cotton mill in the area. This connection to his roots remained important to him throughout his life; even as his career took him far from the industrial landscape of Lancashire, he chose to sign his name as "of Oldham" to acknowledge his origi…