Robert Dukinfield Darbishire (1826–1908) was a prominent

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 ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Robert Dukinfield Darbishire's father, Samuel Dukinfield Darbishire (1799-1870), was a founder of

Manchester Athenaeum The Athenaeum in Princess Street Manchester, England, now part of Manchester Art Gallery, was originally a club built for the Manchester Athenaeum, a society for the "advancement and diffusion of knowledge", in 1837. The society, founded in 1 ...

and Manchester New College. Darbishire was a lay student for four years and worked for his father's law office. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1845. In 1857, he became the lay secretary of the Manchester College, and served for 37 years, including 22 years with his friend Charles Beard. Darbishire was instrumental in setting up the

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfor ...

and was a founding member 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 ...

Philanthropy

Darbishire left money in his will to found the Darbishire House Health Centre, which paved the way for a number of organisations, including the Robert Darbishire Practice, the University of Manchester Department of General Practice and the Centre for Primary Care Research (later the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre). Darbishire was one of the first major donors to the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

, giving over 700 items to their collection from 1904 onwards. He was part of a Manchester network of acquirers who would buy many artifacts and then donate them to the city's institutions. Darbishire was a particular advocate of women's right to education.

Art collection

* Wedgwood Manufactory's copy of the

Portland Vase The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated to between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darbishire, Robert 1908 deaths 1826 births English philanthropists 19th-century English lawyers 19th-century British philanthropists Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society