Sir Benjamin Heywood, 1st Baronet (12 December 1793 – 11 August 1865) was an English banker 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 ...

Early life

Benjamin Heywood was born on 12 December 1793 in St Ann's Square, Manchester. He was the grandson of

Thomas Percival Thomas Percival (29 September 1740 – 30 August 1804) was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 18 ...

, the son of Nathaniel Heywood and Ann Percival, the brother to Thomas Heywood and James Heywood, and the nephew to Samuel Heywood. He lived at "Claremont" to the north west of the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

in Irlams o' th' Height.McConnell (2004) He graduated from the University of Glasgow.

Career

Heywood entered his father's bank becoming a partner in 1814 and sole proprietor in 1828. He was an enthusiast for workers' education and was a founder of the Manchester Mechanics' Institute, serving as its president from 1825 until 1840. Heywood briefly served as Member of Parliament for Lancashire from 1831 until 1832, receiving his baronetcy in recognition of his work in support of the

1832 Reform Bill The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. He was also active in the Manchester Statistical Society.

Personal life

The family had a strong affinity with the south Derbyshire and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

area and bought a summer retreat at Dove Leys, near Denstone (When the Claremont area ( Irlams o' th' Height) of

Pendleton Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri *Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *Pe ...

, Salford, was built up, many of the streets were given names such as Duffield Road, Doveleys Road, Denstone Road, among others.) He was the father of: * Sir Thomas Percival Heywood, 2nd Baronet; * Oliver Heywood; and *Rev. R.H. Heywood.

Honours

* Baronet, (1838) *Fellow of the Royal Society, (1843)

References

Bibliography