Sir Cyril Humphrey Cripps (2 October 1915 – 14 April 2000) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

businessman and a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Humphrey Cripps was educated at

Northampton School For Boys Northampton School for Boys (NSB) is a secondary school in Northampton, England. It was founded as Northampton Town and County Grammar School in 1541 by Thomas Chipsey, Mayor of Northampton. Education in England#Stages of compulsory education, Yea ...

and studied Natural Sciences at St John's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He joined the family firm, Pianoforte Supplies Limited, started by his father in 1919 to make the metal components of pianos (the firm grew into a major supplier of metal fittings for other trades, especially the motor industry). Cripps became Managing Director in 1960 and Chairman in 1979. The decline in the British car industry in the 1970s caused Cripps to diversify his business interests, and he invested abroad, playing a major role in the creation of

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasten ...

Industries. By these means he continued to channel funds into the family charitable foundation. The Cripps Foundation is a charity established in 1956 by the Cripps family which has made huge gifts to universities, colleges, schools, churches, hospitals and museums. Many Cambridge Colleges have benefited from this generosity, as well as the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

. Halls of residence at St John's College,

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, Selwyn College,

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

and

the University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

are named after the Cripps family. His former school also benefitted. The construction of many of the facilities were made possible through his generous donations. Public recognition came to both Cripps and, before him, his father Cyril: both were knighted and Cripps, after many years of service to

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

, became High Sheriff and later Deputy Lieutenant of the County. Cripps was also a noted stamp collector. In 2011, the auction firm of

Spink & Son Spink & Son (established 1666) are an auction and collectibles company known principally for their sales of coins, banknotes, stock and bond certificates and medals. They also deal in philatelic items, wine and spirits, and other collectible ...

in London began a series of sales of his so-called Chartwell Collection, which stretched to fill 84 stamp albums. The first sessions included rare 19th-century stamps of Great Britain and Mauritius, some of which set new world record prices, such as the

Mauritius "Post Office" Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

two-penny blue stamp selling for over £1 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cripps, Humphrey 1915 births 2000 deaths English philanthropists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Northampton School for Boys Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire Knights Bachelor Members of Northamptonshire County Council 20th-century British philanthropists