Short answers, pulled from the story.
Thomas Johnstone Lipton entered the world on the 10th of May 1848, though he later claimed his birth year was 1850 to appear older. The parish register for 1851 listed young Thomas as three years old, confirming his actual birth date despite his later corrections.
In 1890, Thomas Lipton visited British Ceylon and made business deals with James Taylor who had introduced tea gardens using indentured Tamil workers from India. His company began purchasing Ceylon tea directly and distributing it through Europe and the USA starting that same year to sell teas at unprecedentedly low prices specifically targeting the untapped poor working class market.
During the winter of 1914, 1915 and spring of 1915, a catastrophic typhus epidemic erupted across Serbia killing thousands of civilians, soldiers, and prisoners of war. Thomas Lipton decided to visit Serbia personally, traveling aboard his steam yacht Erin via Sardinia, Malta, Athens, and Thessaloníki to place his yachts at the disposal of organizations like the Red Cross and the Serbian Relief Fund for transporting medical volunteers and supplies.
Between 1899 and 1930, Thomas Lipton challenged American holders of the America's Cup five times through the Royal Ulster Yacht Club using yachts named Shamrock I through Shamrock V. Although he never succeeded, his persistent efforts earned him a specially designed cup known as the best of all losers and led to his induction into the America's Cup Hall of Fame recognizing his unique contribution to sailing history in 1993.
For thirty years, Thomas Lipton maintained a domestic partnership with William Love, one of his early shop assistants, living together until they parted ways. Other male companions followed including an orphan from Crete whom Lipton met during a cruise in 1900 and Maurice Talvande, self-styled Comte de Mauny, who became another close friend during these decades.