Unidad documental compuesta KNO/20/7 - Printing blocks of the East Window, St Michael le Belfrey, York

John Alder Knowles was born in 1881, the eldest son of stained glass painter and restorer John Ward Knowles.

In 1903, Knowles travelled to Toronto, Canada, and then to Minneapolis, where he spent the next nine years working at the Ford Brothers stained glass works. On his return to England in 1912 he began to assist his father with his York stained glass business.

Knowles' career was interrupted by his service in both the First World War and the Second World War.

John Alder Knowles was granted an Honorary Master of Arts from the University of Hull in 1957 for his scholarly monograph on the York School of Glass Painting (published in 1936 and illustrated with his own sketches and photographs). During his career he wrote more than 60 articles on the history of stained glass.

Knowles died on 25 November 1961, aged 80.
John Alder Knowles was the eldest son of John Ward Knowles, stained glass painter, and worked with him in the family business J W Knowles & Sons.