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, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and a 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

Early life and education

Gavron was the eldest son of Nathan Gavron, a patent lawyer, and Leah Gavron. His parents were secular, middle-class Jews who had immigrated to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from Russia and Lithuania. He was brought up in

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is a 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 twentieth-century ...

, north London, and studied at

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private 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, having ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and then at

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Located on New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom, it occupies the site of two of the university's academic halls of the Univers ...

. Gavron became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

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 entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

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, taking it public in 1985 and growing it into a £350m company. Gavron's savvy management of St Ives included developing a positive workplace culture through friendly relationships with his employees and industry unions. 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. Originally a student magazine devised by undergraduates collaborating between Oxford and Cambridge, it was refounded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was nam ...

from 1983 to 2015 and served as the chairman of the

Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press edit ...

, (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 formerly ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the fin ...

and a trustee of the

Scott Trust The Scott Trust Limited is the British limited company that owns Guardian Media Group and thus ''The Guardian'' as well as various other media businesses in the UK. It was created to acquire ''The Guardian'' in 1936, and reorganised as a limited ...

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 part of The Open University. As of the 2023/24 a ...

(1991–1996), a director of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

(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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

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

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(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 King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

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 British life peer and former chartered accountant who was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. A long-standing friend of former prime minister Tony Blair, ...

, which financed

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

's private office before the 1997 General Election. He was also a trustee of the centre-left Institute of Public Policy Research from 1991 and the treasurer from 1994; during that time, the IPPR was influential in policy debates in the Labour Party which came to power in 1997. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1990 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the ...

, and received a life peerage as Baron Gavron, ''of

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

in the

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

,'' 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 Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. 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 supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, and was later 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, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

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 conservation district of the same name, It is the largest public park in Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region. Suburbs neighbouring the park include Toxteth, Aigb ...

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 people, Barbadian international cricketer who plays for the West Indies cricket team, West Indies in Test cricket, Test and One Day Internationals. As a pacer, Roach initially reached s ...

Kraigg Brathwaite Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite (born 1 December 1992) is a Barbados, Barbadian cricketer and former Captain (cricket), captain of the West Indian cricket team, West Indies in Test cricket. He is a right-handed batsman and occasionally bowls off bre ...

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 medium-fast bowling all-rounder who features in all three cricketing formats. In January 2019, he was ...

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 former 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 ...

and

Shai Hope Shai Diego Hope (born 10 November 1993) is a Barbadian cricketer, who plays as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the West Indies cricket team. He is also the current ODI &T20I captain of the Windies. In June 2018, he was named the Men's Cricketer of t ...

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

References

External links