Joseph Constantine 1856-1922 Born in Germany of British nationality, Joseph Constantine came to Middlesbrough as a boy. His father helped him to set up in business as a shipowner, a career which proved very successful. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1916 and in the same year began making plans for a technical college for Middlesbrough. Constantine College, which was house din this building, was opened in 1930. The college went on to become Teesside Polytechnic in 1970 and the University of Teesside in 1992.