Sir Edward Donner, 1st Baronet (2 August 1840 – 29 December 1934), was a British banker, philanthropist and supporter of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

causes.

Biography

Donner was the eldest son of Edward Sedgfield Donner, a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and his wife, Elizabeth. He was educated at the Royal Institution School in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

.''Manchester High School for Girls'' (1974); p. 32 Donner was head of the shipping firm of Chamberlin, Donner & Co. and from 1904 chairman of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Society.Walford, Edward. ''The County Families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland'', page 107, edition 59, 1919.
/ref> He was one of the founders of the

Manchester High School for Girls Manchester High School for Girls is an English independent day school for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield, Manchester. The head mistress is Helen Jeys who took up the position in September 2020 ...

in 1874 and was a governor of the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

and of the

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

. He resided at Oak Mount,

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

, and his firm's offices were in Aytoun Street,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Towards the end of his life he was known as the Grand Old Man of Manchester. In the late 1870s he organised an appeal for funds for the high school and in 1877 a new constitution was adopted which made the school a joint stock company instead of a voluntary association. Before this change Donner was personally responsible for the school finances and legally liable in case of a lawsuit. He was Lord of the Manor of

Cayton Cayton is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England, south of Scarborough. History Cayton is mentioned in the ''Domesday book'' as "Caitune". In 2010, Cayton won a Silver-gilt, at the Britain in Blo ...

. He donated the Ashfield estate, now part of

Platt Fields Park Platt Fields Park is a large public park in Fallowfield, Manchester, England which is home to Platt Hall. Fallowfield lies to the south and Wilmslow Road runs along its eastern edge. Description The centrepiece of the park is a large pleasure ...

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, Fallo ...

and Fallowfield, to the city of Manchester. Among his other benefactions were donations to the University, particularly to its Physical Laboratory, to the

, to the High School for Girls, where he was a governor for 61 years, from 1874–1934. It was said of him in 1892 that "the school HSGowes more to him than to any living man", and on another occasion "he was incapable by temperament of anything but moderation and courtesy, whether on the platform or in private life, ndhe did much to sweeten and elevate the public life of the city". Donner was also one of the leading supporters of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He entertained

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

on the prime minister's visit to the city in 1907 Clarke, P.F
''Lancashire and the New Liberalism'', p. 231. Cambridge University Press, 1971
/ref> and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Oak Mount in the City of Manchester, later that year. In 1908 he was chairman of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's election campaign for Manchester North West (Churchill was defeated by

William Joynson-Hicks William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

). Donner married Anna Maria Cunningham, elder daughter of William Cunningham, a banker, of Manchester, in 1866. Anna Maria, Lady Donner, was awarded the DBE for her work in organising the Fairview Auxiliary Hospital,

. The couple had no children. Sir Edward Donner died in 1934, aged 94 and the title became extinct for lack of heirs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donner, Edward 1840 births 1934 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesspeople Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British bankers British philanthropists Businesspeople from Manchester People educated at the Royal Institution School