Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 2nd Baronet (21 December 1909 – 17 July 1973) was an English shipowner,

natural historian Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

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 ...

. The only son and heir of the English shipowner and investor John Ellerman, he was often said to be Britain's richest man. His sister was the writer

Bryher Bryher () is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . Bryher exhibits a procession of prominent hills connected by low-lying necks and sandy bars. Landmarks include Hell Bay, ...

Life

John Reeves Ellerman was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

, where as a teenager he wrote an anti-sport novel, ''Why Do They Like It?'', under the pseudonym E. L. Black.Tim Carroll
The Lost Tycoon
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', 22 October 2006. He read for the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

before entering his father's shipping business. Ellerman was twenty three when his father died in July 1933. His father's estate was assessed for probate at £36.685 million, almost three times the previous record set in the United Kingdom, of which he received around £20 million. He promptly married his Canadian girlfriend, Esther de Sola, daughter of Clarence I. de Sola, of whom his father had disapproved. He oversaw

Ellerman Lines Ellerman Lines was a UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller shipping lines u ...

for many years, and was often said to be Britain's richest man. Ellerman's main interest was the study of rodents. He wrote ''The Families and Genera of Living Rodents''. He also undertook various philanthropies and helped

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

refugees to escape Nazi rule in Germany (his grandfather's homeland), earning the wrath of

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Fascism, fascist and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the World War II, Second World War. After moving from ...

("Lord Haw-Haw") who attacked him by name in his propaganda broadcasts, incorrectly claiming that he was of Jewish descent. Shortly before his death he had transferred 79% of the shares in Ellerman Lines Ltd to grant-making trusts: The Moorgate Fund, established 1970, and The New Moorgate Fund, established 1971, were amalgamated as The John Ellerman Foundation in 1992. He died of a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1973. Upon his death, he left £53 million (equivalent to £ in ), the largest will ever proved in the UK at the time. However, after adjusting for inflation, his estate was worth less than he had inherited. Ellerman had no children.

Works

*''The families and genera of living rodents'', 1940 (vol. 1), 1941 (vol. 2) *''Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals, 1758–1946'', 1951 *''Southern African mammals, 1758–1951: a reclassification'', 1953

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellerman, John, 2nd Baronet 1909 births 1973 deaths 2 People educated at Malvern College English businesspeople in shipping People from Folkestone English people of German descent British mammalogists 20th-century English zoologists 20th-century English businesspeople