Richard Olamilege Blaize was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to a Creole family of emancipated slaves of Yoruba origin.
Though the ruinous approach of competitors led to many indigenous enterprises foundling not the least helped with the dominance of sole proprietorships, Blaize thrived in the midst of strong competition and became one of the wealthiest West Africans of his time.
He entered the newsprint business in 1880, with the launch of The Lagos Times and Gold Coast Colony Advertiser.
[10] Blaize donated £500 in memory of Mary Kingsley to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
[6] When he died in 1904, he bequeathed £3,000 for the foundation of the Blaize Memorial Institute in Abeokuta, which opened in 1909[10] and functioned well into the 1970s.
[11] Blaize kept his connection with Freetown, his place of birth, bequeathing £500 to the Princess Christian Hospital there.