[1] John Broadwood (1732–1812), a Scottish joiner and cabinetmaker, came to London in 1761 and began to work for the Swiss harpsichord manufacturer Burkat Shudi.

[2] In 1785 Thomas Jefferson, later to be third President of the United States, visited Broadwood in Great Pulteney Street, Soho, to discuss musical instruments.

[9] After a long period of decline ending in near bankruptcy, the business was rescued in the mid 1980s by a consortium headed up by Geoffrey Simon,[10] a keen amateur pianist and successful businessman from Birmingham.

Mr. Simon took on the mantle of CEO and under his stewardship John Broadwood & Sons entered a period during which a number of innovations were developed.

[13] Following the death of Geoffrey Simon in 2006, the company was acquired in 2008 by Alastair Laurence, a piano builder and technician with family ties to the Broadwood firm dating back to 1787.