USC honorary trustee James Edward Hanson died Nov. 1, at his home in southern England, after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.

A member of the British House of Lords, Hanson – through a partnership with the late Lord Gordon White – transformed a fertilizer business into a multibillion-dollar global conglomerate, with interests including electricity, chemicals, tobacco, shoes and building materials.

“A man of grace, integrity, intelligence and ready wit, Lord Hanson helped guide USC as an honorary trustee upon whom I could always rely for wise counsel,” USC President Steven B. Sample said.

“His enthusiasm for the university was luminous, and he helped broaden USC’s international scope and strengthen our efforts in medical research, in which he had an abiding interest," Sample said.

Born in Huddersfield, northern England in 1922, Hanson joined the British Army at age 17. Seven years later, holding the rank of acting major, he left the service to work for his family’s transport business, managing its Canadian interests from 1949 to 1963.

Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Hanson set out to build a diversified company. Through Wiles Group, a fertilizer maker, he and White purchased 24 companies within a decade, with sales topping $120 million.

The duo made headlines through friendships with celebrities such as Jean Simmons, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor. Hanson was engaged to actress Audrey Hepburn for two years.

In 1973, he established a New York-based subsidiary, followed by purchases in animal feed, hot dogs, batteries and shoes.

In 1984, Hanson purchased U.S. Industries and subsequent turnovers included SCM – with brands such as Glidden Paints, Durkee’s Famous Foods and SCM Chemicals – and Imperial Group, with food, hotel, beer and restaurant businesses.

In 1995 – the year White died – Hanson’s corporation consolidated 34 of its companies in the United States into a new company named U.S. Industries Inc.

A year later, the Hanson conglomerate divided its operations and created four separate public companies focused on chemicals (Millennium Chemicals), tobacco (Imperial Tobacco), energy (Energy Group PLC) and building materials and equipment (Hanson PLC).

In 1997, Hanson retired and became a lecturer and frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines.

Hanson founded the London radio station Melody FM and the Hanson Fellowship of Surgery at Oxford University. In 1995, through the Hanson White Foundation, he supported urology research programs in the Keck School of Medicine of USC and created the Hanson-White Chair in Medical Research.

USC named him an honorary trustee in 2002.

Hanson married Geraldine Kaelin in 1959. She died of leukemia earlier this year. He is survived by two sons and a stepdaughter.