Person    | Male  Born 24/2/1619  Died 27/1/1689

Robert Aske

Categories: Philanthropy, Race Issues

Son of a draper. Worked as a haberdasher; 1643 became a Freeman of the Haberdashers Company; 1666 elected an Alderman of the City of London. He became Master of the Haberdashers' Company. But the reason he's remembered is that, though married he had no children and thus was free to leave a significant bequest to the founding of a Hospital, out of which grew a number of schools all with the tongue-twisting moniker of Haberdashers' Aske's. But at least the pupils learn to manage their apostrophes.

2021: Southwark News reported that "The Haberdashers’ Aske’s chain of schools will remove the surname of their 17th century benefactor Robert Aske from their names, in recognition of his investment in the slave trade." Aske invested a relatively small amount in the Royal African Company in 1672, becoming one of its founding members. the future of the statue of Ask at Hatcham College in New Cross is also looking doubtful.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Robert Aske

Commemorated ati

Aske's Hospital - right - 1875

This plaque summarises the history of the Hospital and celebrates the opening...

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Other Subjects

Bulldog Trust

Bulldog Trust

Provides financial and advisory assistance to charities.

Group, Philanthropy

1 memorial
Sir Arthur Pearson

Sir Arthur Pearson

Newspaper publisher and philanthropist. Born in Wookey, Somerset. In 1898 he founded the Daily Express, which was innovative in printing news instead of adverts on its front page. When he started t...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, Philanthropy

1 memorial
Felix Slade

Felix Slade

Collector of glass, books and engravings funded from the wealth he inherited from his father. Member of the Society of Antiquaries, he endowed 3 Slade Professorships of Fine Art at universities, an...

Person, Art, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Sir Julius Wernher

Sir Julius Wernher

Co-founder and funder (with Alfred Beit) of the Royal School of Mines building. Born Damstadt, Germany, came to London in 1871, and, acting as a diamond agent, went to Kimberly in South Africa. Re...

Person, Industry, Philanthropy, Race Issues, Germany, South Africa

1 memorial
Mr Fegan's Homes

Mr Fegan's Homes

James Fegan set up his first children's home in Deptford, South London in 1870. Others were opened in Greenwich, Southwark, Goudhurst and one in Westminster, known as the Red Lamp, which maybe was ...

Group, Children, Philanthropy, Canada

1 memorial