David Anthony Jacobs, Baron Jacobs, known as Anthony Jacobs (13 November 1931 – 21 June 2014) was a British businessman and an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician. He left the Liberal Democrats in 2011. The son of Ridley and Ella Jacobs, he was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Jacobs was Chairman of document reproduction equipment firm Nig Securities Group from 1957 to 1972, of fashion firm Tricoville Group from 1961 to 1990 and 1992 to 1994, and of

British School of Motoring The British School of Motoring (BSM) is a driving school in the United Kingdom, providing training in vehicle operation and road safety. BSM has around 1000 driving instructors. RAC's parent company, Aviva, sold BSM to Arques Industries AG in ...

from 1973 to 1990. From 1972, he was member of the Liberal Party, contesting

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

in both

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in 1974. In 1984, Jacobs became his Party's Joint Treasurer, a post he stepped down from three years later. Jacobs was knighted in 1988 and on 18 October 1997, he was created a life peer as Baron Jacobs, of Belgravia in the City of Westminster. He took the Liberal Democrat whip until January 2011 when he resigned from the party, citing opposition to its policies on taxation. He sat in the Lords as a non-affiliated member until his death. From 1999 to 2002 he was a member of the House of Lords Works of Art Committee. At the time of his peerage he also received also an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...

in recognition of his generous support for the excavation of an ancient shipwreck at Ma'agan Michael. He ranked 614th in the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' of 2008 being estimated to be worth £128 million due to driving schools and fast food.

References

;General * * 1931 births 2014 deaths People educated at Clifton College Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Alumni of the University of London Knights Bachelor 20th-century British businesspeople {{life-peer-stub