Edward DONNER

Background

Donner was the eldest son of Edward Sedgfield Donner, a solicitor, of Scarborough, Yorkshire, by Elizabeth Peart, daughter of William Rhodes, of West Butterwick, Lincolnshire.

Education

Studied at Royal Institution School, Liverpool. Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

Career

He was educated at the Royal Institution School in Liverpool and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Donner was head of the shipping firm of Chamberlin, Donner & Company and from 1904 chairman of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Society. He was one of the founders of the Manchester High School for Girls in 1874 and was a governor of the Victoria University of Manchester and of the Manchester Grammar School.

He resided at Oak Mount, Fallowfield, and his firm"s offices were in Aytoun Street, Manchester.

Towards the end of his life he was known as the Grand Old Manitoba of Manchester. In the late 1870s he organised an appeal for funds for the high school and in 1877 a new constitution was adopted which made the school a joint stock company instead of a voluntary association.

Before this change Donner was personally responsible for the school finances and legally liable in case of a lawsuit. He was lord of the manor of Cayton.

He donated the Ashfield estate, now part of Platt Fields Park in Rusholme and Fallowfield, to the city of Manchester.

Among his other benefactions were donations to the University, particularly to its Physical Laboratory, to the Manchester Grammar School, to the High School for Girls (he was a governor of the school for 61 years, 1874–1934). His appearance was thin and austere and said to resemble the bust of Julius Caesar in the Berlin Museum. lieutenant was said of him in 1892 that "the school owes more to him than to any living man", and on another occasion "he was incapable by temperament of anything but moderation and courtesy, whether on the platform or in private life, he did much to sweeten and elevate the public life of the city".

Donner was also one of the leading supporters of the Liberal Party in Manchester.

He entertained Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman on the prime minister"s visit to the city in 1907 and was created a baronet, of Oak Mount in the City of Manchester, later that year. In 1908 he was chairman of Winston Churchill"s election campaign for Manchester North West (Churchill was defeated by William Joynson-Hicks).

Donner married Anna Maria Cunningham Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, elder daughter of William Cunningham, a banker, of Manchester, in 1866. She was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work in organising the Fairview Auxiliary Hospital, Fallowfield.

They had no children.

He died in December 1934, aged 94, when the title became extinct.

Connections

Spouse 1866, Anna Maria, daughter of West. A. Cunningham, banker.

Father:

East. South. Donner

Mother:

Elizabeth.

Spouse:

Anna Maria

heir:

none.