Joseph Theophilus "JT" Mears (1871 – October 1935), was an English businessman, most notable for co-founding Chelsea Football Club.
He was born in 1871 in Hammersmith, London, the elder son of Joseph Mears, a builder.
[1] In 1896, Mears and his brother Gus purchased the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground and went on to found Chelsea Football Club in 1905.
In 1907, Mears acquired the business of the Thames Electric & Motor Launch Co at Eel Pie Island and he went on to build up a large fleet of passenger launches on the Thames.
The company continued until 1945, when it passed to a newly formed company, Thames Launches Ltd.[3] He formed Joseph Mears Cinemas Ltd which built up a group of cinemas around the Richmond area.