The London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) was the principal bus operator in London, England, between 1855 and 1933. Between 1909 and 1912, it was also a motor bus manufacturer. It was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the many independent horse-drawn omnibus services operating in London. Originally an Anglo-French enterprise, it was also known as the Compagnie Generale des Omnibus de Londres. Within a year, the LGOC controlled 600 of London's 810 omnibuses. In 1908, the LGOC bought the Road Car Company, the Vanguard Company, and its other main rivals, thereby gaining a virtual monopoly in London. In 1911, it absorbed the Great Eastern London Motor Omnibus Company (previously known as London Motor Omnibus Company). In 1933, the LGOC became part of the new London Passenger Transport Board.

The London Dock Company was established by a group of merchants, shippers, and bankers in 1796 and it was formed in Wapping, East London in 1800. The work on the London Docks began in 1801. They were constructed by hand and required hundreds of labourers, mainly economic migrants from Ireland. The London Dock Company negotiated a 21-year monopoly to manage all vessels carrying rice, tobacco, wine, and brandy (except those from the East and West Indies). In 1864, the London Docks were amalgamated with St Katharine Docks. The docks were closed to shipping in 1969.

Gerhard Lomer was born in Montreal and graduated B.A. from McGill in 1903. He earned his Ph.D. in education from Columbia in 1910. From 1903 until 1907, Lomer taught English and education at McGill, and in 1920 he was appointed University Librarian, a position he held until his retirement in 1948. In 1927 he succeeded in upgrading McGill's Library School from a summer school to a full graduate course; from 1927 to 1947 he was the School's Director and Professor of Library Administration. Lomer also served as associate director of the University of Ottawa Library School, and as president of the Quebec Library Association (1932-1933) becoming honorary life president in 1937. He wrote a biography of Stephen Leacock and collaborated on educational textbooks.