Person    | Male  Born 1668  Died 1751

Captain Thomas Coram

Categories: Children, Social Welfare

Countries: USA

Born Lyme Regis, Dorset, where there is now a commemorative tower. Pioneer in the cause of child welfare.

He became a Captain in the Merchant Navy trading between England and America. For several years he lived in America as a shipwright gaining a great reputation as an expert on all matters concerning the Colonies. As a staunch churchman he realised the importance of the spiritual needs of the settlers and left land in trust for the building of a church in Taunton, Massachusetts. He became a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a trustee of the Colony of Georgia and settled in London in 1720. Here, in 1739, appalled at the number of abandoned children on the streets, he obtained a Royal Charter and established the Foundling Hospital, a "hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children". Buried in the Church of Saint Andrew, Holborn.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Captain Thomas Coram

Commemorated ati

Coram bust

The base of the bust is inscribed "D Evans".

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Coram's Fields

These grounds, the site of the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by Cap...

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Coram statue

The base of the statue is inscribed "Wm. MacMillan Sc. 1963". The pose is tak...

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Other Subjects

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

A charity campaigning and working in child protection in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands. Founded as the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children by Earl Shaftesbury, Ben...

Group, Children, Social Welfare

3 memorials
Jacob Sebastian Holstein

Jacob Sebastian Holstein

From The Peerage: Jacob was the son of Alison Margaret Worsley (b.1963) and Christian Holstein. They married in 1992 and divorced 1996. Alison married again in 1997 and her married name became McIn...

Person, Children

1 memorial
The Children's Fold

The Children's Fold

A Barnardo's home, also referred to as Sheppard's House. It was established around 1887 at 182 Grove Road, E3. Its address is sometimes given as 180 Grove Road, so may have expanded into the neighb...

Group, Children, Philanthropy, Social Welfare

1 memorial
John Cyril Lees Collingham

John Cyril Lees Collingham

John Cyril Lees Collingham was born in 1865, the second of the six children of Joseph Mawer Collingham (1832-1902) and Jane Eliza Collingham née Lees (1836-1919). His birth was registered in 2nd qu...

Person, Benefactor, Children

1 memorial
Sunday Schools (centenary)

Sunday Schools (centenary)

Workhouses.org informs that schools for children on Sundays probably happened earlier but the movement started in 1780 when Robert Raikes opened a school in Gloucester.

Concept, Children, Education

1 memorial

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Andrew Strauss

Andrew Strauss

Left-handed cricketer. Has played for Middlesex County Cricket Club and has captained England.

Person, Sport / Games

1 memorial
01 Croydon - Edmund Halley

01 Croydon - Edmund Halley

CR9, Katharine Street, Croydon Public Library

Built in 1892 by Charles Henman Jr. this heavily decorated group of buildings makes up Croydon's Municipal buildings complex. The buildin...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator