Sir Edward Rae Davson, 1st Baronet, (14 February 1875 – 6 August 1937) was a British businessman who was influential in colonial economics. He was the managing director of Messrs. S. Davson & Co., Ltd., a prominent West Indies merchant firm.

Early life and education

Davson was born in British Guyana, the second of four sons of Sir Henry Katz Davson, also born in Guyana, and Ann Helen Miller, of

Kinnoull Kinnoull is a parish in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately half a mile northeast of Perth city centre. Beginning at the level of the River Tay, Kinnoull's terrain continues to rise as it continues southeast, culminating in Kinno ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. His father was a London-based Guyana sugar merchant who operated Henry Davson & Sons. The Davson family fled

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

after refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the tsar in 1795; Davson's grandfather, Simon Davson, settled in Guyana. Davson was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

Career

In addition to his own business, S. Davson & Co., Davson was active in numerous trade organisations, conferences, and committees. Davson was chairman of the British Empire Producers' Organisation and President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, and the founder and first president of the Associated West Indian Chambers of Commerce. In 1929, he founded the West Indies Conference, also serving as the first president. He was a member of the

Empire Marketing Board The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote intra-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and ...

from 1926 to 1933. In 1932, he was the British government adviser on colonial trade to the Ottawa Conference. In addition. He represented the Colonies and Protectorates on the Imperial Economic Committee and was a member of the Colonial Development Committee. He was a governor of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, vice-chairman of the board and member of the London Committee of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

, and a trustee of the Imperial Institute. Davson was knighted by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

in 1919 and created a baronet, of

Berbice Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...

in the Colony of British Guiana, on 21 January 1927 in the

1927 New Year Honours The New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1926. The recipients of honours are ...

. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in the

1934 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1934 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

, for services in connection with the economic problems of the Colonies.

Personal life

In 1921, Davson married Margot Elinor Glyn , the daughter of Clayton Louis Glyn and the novelist

Elinor Glyn Elinor Glyn ( Sutherland; 17 October 1864 – 23 September 1943) was a British novelist and scriptwriter who specialised in romantic fiction, which was considered scandalous for its time, although her works are relatively tame by modern stand ...

, and had two sons, Geoffrey and Christopher, who succeeded him as the second and third baronets, respectively. He died at his home in Eaton Place,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davson, Edward 1875 births 1937 deaths British people of Latvian descent People educated at Eton College 20th-century British businesspeople Knights Bachelor Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British expatriates in British Guiana