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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Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter

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Foundling Hospital

Foundling Hospital

England's first home for abandoned children. Established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram. From the Museum's Friends Update: "On the afternoon of Wednesday 25 March {1741}, the coat of arms designe...

Building, Children, Social Welfare

6 memorials
Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton

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Children's Society

Children's Society

Founded by Edward Rudolf as the Church of England Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays.  In 1946 the name was changed to the Church of England Children's Society.  The first hom...

Group, Children, Social Welfare

1 memorial
Emily Yeates

Emily Yeates

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Person, Children, Friend / family

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Mary Dunning's maze

Mary Dunning's maze

NW4, Greyhound Hill, Church Farm House Museum

The maze was funded by a bequest from the late Colette Fontaine and a generous gift from the Friends of the Museum. The stone bird-bath a...

1 subject commemorated