Which soap magnate's will established the Leverhulme Trust?

Which soap magnate's will established the Leverhulme Trust? William Lever—more precisely, William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme—left instructions in his will that led to its creation.

Lever built his fortune through Lever Brothers, which he founded with his brother James in 1886. The company manufactured and aggressively marketed Sunlight Soap, helping make branded, packaged soap a mass-market product. His business later became part of Unilever.

When Lever died in 1925, his will directed assets toward trade charities and scholarships for research and education. The resulting trust initially served both purposes, but it gradually focused mainly on supporting research and education across academic disciplines.

A common mix-up is confusing William Lever with other British industrial philanthropists such as George Cadbury or Joseph Rowntree. Leverhulme was Lever's peerage name: he was created Baron Leverhulme in 1917 and Viscount Leverhulme in 1922.