Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron (13 September 1930 – 7 February 2015) was a British printing millionaire,

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 ...

and a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Gavron was the eldest son of Nathan Gavron, a patent lawyer, and Leah Gavron. He was brought up in

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentiet ...

, north London, and studied at

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and then at

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th ...

. Gavron became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and was called to the bar by

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1955.

Career

Gavron borrowed £5,000 to purchase a failing publishing house in 1964. He renamed it the St Ives Group and served as chairman from 1964 to 1993. He was the director of Octopus Publishing between 1975 and 1987 and Electra Management from 1981 to 1992. He was also the proprietor of the

Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...

from 1983 to 2015 and served as the chairman of the

Folio Society The Folio Society is a London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it operates as an employee ownership trust since 2021. It produces illustrated hardback editions of classic fict ...

, (1982–2015) and the National Gallery Co Ltd (1996–1998). He was both chairman of the

Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the financial and e ...

and a trustee of the

Scott Trust Scott Trust Limited is the British company that owns Guardian Media Group and thus ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'' as well as various other media businesses in the UK. In 2008, it replaced the Scott Trust, which had owned ''The Guardian'' s ...

between 1997 and 2000. Gavron was chairman of the

Open College of the Arts The Open College of the Arts (OCA) is an open learning arts college, with a Head Office in Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1987 by Michael Young, it is a registered charity and the distance learning partner of the University ...

(1991–1996), a director of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

(1992–1998), a trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

(1994–2001), and of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (1987–2005). He was a governor of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(1997–2002) and chaired his own charitable trust, the Robert Gavron Charitable Trust (1974–2015). He was in 1996 elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

Politics

Gavron was active in the Labour Party and a financial contributor to the

Labour Leader's Office Fund The Labour Leader's Office Fund was a blind trust established and run by Lord Levy to finance Tony Blair's work in opposition before the 1997 general election. Contributors to it included the millionaires Sir Trevor Chinn, Sir Emmanuel Kaye, ...

, run by

Lord Levy Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy, (born 11 July 1944) is a Labour Party peer. He is a former chartered accountant and was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. He now acts as a consultant for a number of companies a ...

, which financed

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's private office before the 1997 General Election. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 1990 Birthday Honours, and received a life peerage as Baron Gavron, ''of

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

,'' on 6 August 1999. Gavron served on House of Lords, UK Parliament, Works of Art Committee from 1999 to 2003 and 2005 – 2009. Gavron was a member of the Groucho and the MCC.

Personal life

Gavron was married three times. In 1955, he married Hannah Fyvel, the daughter of T. R. Fyvel who was literary editor of ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

''. They had two sons before she took her own life in 1965. One son, Jeremy Gavron, a novelist, has written a book about the tragedy. In 1967, Gavron married Felicia Nicolette Coates, who later became a Labour member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

, and is now known as Nicky Gavron. Before they divorced in 1987, the couple had two daughters including the film director

Sarah Gavron Sarah Gavron (born 20 April 1970) is a British film director. She has directed four short films, and three feature films.Garcia, Maria. "Demanding To Be Heard". ''Film Journal International''. 118. Her first film was ''This Little Life'' (2003) ...

. In 1989, Gavron married Katherine Gardiner (''née'' Macnair). An MCC member, Gavron was a great supporter of cricket, especially in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

where he was an honorary life member of the

Barbados Cricket Association The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was established in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its format ...

. He established the Lord Gavron Scholarship for promising young cricketers in 2001. Recipients are presented with a trophy, a computer, cricket equipment and an attachment to a cricket club overseas or the opportunity to study at a local institution. Since 2010 two players, usually winners of the award, have spent a season with

Sefton Park Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, ...

and Wavertree cricket clubs in England. Winners of the award who have gone on to play Test cricket for the West Indies include

Kemar Roach Kemar Andre Jamal Roach (born 30 June 1988) is a Barbadian international cricketer who plays for the West Indies. He played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka and has represented the West Indies in Test and One Day International c ...

Kraigg Brathwaite Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite (born 1 December 1992) is a Barbadian cricketer who captains the West Indies in Test cricket. He bats right-handed and occasionally bowls right arm off break. On 6 November 2011, he became only the second West India ...

Jason Holder Jason Omar Holder (born 5 November 1991) is a Barbadian cricketer and the former captain of the West Indies cricket team. He is a right arm fast bowling all-rounder. Holder made his One Day International (ODI) debut in January 2013 and Test de ...

Jomel Warrican Jomel Andrel Warrican (born 20 May 1992) is a West Indian cricketer. He is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a right-handed tail-end batsman. In September 2015 he was named in the Test squad for the West Indies tour to Sri Lanka. He made his ...

Shane Dowrich Shane Omari Dowrich (born 30 October 1991) is a Barbadian international cricketer who plays as a wicket-keeper. He has featured for the West Indies, Barbados along with CPL teams St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Barbados Tridents in his cricketi ...

and

Shai Hope Shai Diego Hope (born 10 November 1993) is a Barbadian cricketer, who plays international cricket for the West Indies cricket team. He is regarded as one of the best ODI batsmen in the contemporary world. At the age of 21, he was called into the ...

. Having survived cancer and heart surgery, Gavron died of a heart attack on 7 February 2015 after playing tennis.

References

External links