Leonard Gordon Wolfson, Baron Wolfson, FRS (11 November 1927 – 20 May 2010) was a British businessman, the former chairman of

GUS Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...

, and son of GUS magnate Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet. He is the father of

Janet Wolfson de Botton Dame Janet Frances de Botton, ( née Wolfson; formerly Green; born 31 March 1952

. He attended

The King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex ma ...

from 1942 to 1945. Having been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1977, he was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 13 June 1985 with the title Baron Wolfson, ''of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

''. He was a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. On the death of his father in 1991, Lord Wolfson succeeded as 2nd Baronet (styled "of St Marylebone in the County of London"). He was granted a leave of absence from the House of Lords from 2008. He was Chairman of the

Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation is a charity that awards grants to support excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts and humanities. Overview The endowment of the Wolfson Foundation is currently some £800 million, ...

. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1986, and an Honorary

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 2005. He was also an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of three

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

colleges, Wolfson College (named after his father Isaac Wolfson), St Catherine's College, and

Worcester College Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

. He died on 20 May 2010. Lord Wolfson was a philanthropist, supporting many causes: he was president of the Jewish Welfare Board, and a trustee of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

. The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation was set up in 2012, and continues to support scientific and medical research, education and the arts.

References

1927 births 2010 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British businesspeople in retailing Conservative Party (UK) life peers English people of Polish-Jewish descent English philanthropists Honorary Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor People educated at King's School, Worcester Jewish British politicians 20th-century British philanthropists {{Life-peer-stub

See also

References