Career
Born in Yonkers, New York he was the third child of Isabella Eugenie Boyer and sewing machine magnate, Isaac Singer. The family moved to England when Washington Singer was still a child. He was raised at Oldway Mansion at Paignton on the Devon coast.
Equine interests
The Washington Singer Stakes race at Newbury Racecourse is named in his honour.
Philanthropy
He became a benefactor of a number of different causes and was a substantial donor to the University College of the southwest of England, which later became the University of Exeter. One of the university"s buildings, which is home to the Department of Psychology, is named in his honour.
Personal life
In 1906, he purchased Norman Court, a 20,000-acre (81 km2) estate in Wiltshire that included the villages of West Dean in Wiltshire and West Tytherley in Hampshire and the parishes of Buckholt and Frenchmoor and parts of Farley and Pitton. Sold by his widow, in 1952 it became the private Norman Court Preparatory School.