Andrew Pears was an English man, born around 1770, who invented transparent soap.
[1] He opened a barber's shop in the then-fashionable residential area of Gerrard Street, Soho, that attracted the business of many wealthy families.
In 1807 he found a way of removing the impurities and refining the base soap before adding the delicate perfume of garden flowers.
His method of mellowing and aging each long-lasting Pears Bar, for over two months, is still used today where natural oils and pure glycerine are combined with the delicate fragrance of rosemary, cedar and thyme.
His great great grandson, Thomas Pears (1882–1912), travelled First Class aboard RMS Titanic on the ship's maiden voyage from England to New York in April 1912 with his wife, Edith Ann (Wearne) Pears (1889–1956).