Josiah Mason
Sir Josiah Mason | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Mason by Henry Penn, 1870 | |
| Born | 23 February 1795 Mill Street, Kidderminster, England |
| Died | 16 June 1881 (aged 86) |
| Monuments |
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| Nationality | Industrialist |
| Known for | Philanthropy |
Sir Josiah Mason (23 February 1795 – 16 June 1881) was an English industrialist, engaged in pen manufacture and other trades, and a philanthropist. He founded Mason Science College in 1875,[1][2] which later became the University of Birmingham.[3]
Biography
He was the son of a carpet-weaver, and was born in Mill Street,
In 1874 the business was converted into a limited liability company. Besides his steel-pen trade, Mason carried on for many years the business of electro-plating, copper-smelting, and India-rubber ring making, in conjunction with
Mason was almost entirely self-educated, having taught himself to write when a shoemaker's apprentice, and in later life he felt his deficiencies keenly. It was this which led him in 1860 to establish his great orphanage at Erdington, near Sutton Coldfield, some 6 miles from Birmingham. Upon it he expended about £300,000, and for this munificent endowment he was knighted in 1872. He had previously given a dispensary to his native town and an almshouse to Erdington. In 1880 Mason College, since incorporated in the University of Birmingham, was opened. The total value of the endowment was about £250,000.
In commemoration of him, his bust stands at the centre of the roundabout at the junction of Chester Road & Orphanage Road in Erdington (52°31′54″N 1°49′30″W / 52.531556°N 1.825128°W). This bronze bust was cast in 1951 by William Bloye from a marble statue by Francis John Williamson in 1885, which stood opposite Mason Science College in Edmund Street, but which has since been destroyed.[5] Williamson's statue was erected posthumously, Mason having vetoed its creation during his lifetime.[6] The bust is often "dressed" on special occasions and seasonal holidays.
References
- ^ "Mason College". Birmingham University. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ISBN 978-0335206599.
- ^ "Foundation of the University 1767 -1899". University of Birmingham. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ Scientific American. Munn & Company. 9 July 1881. p. 25.
- ISBN 0853236925.
- Wikidata Q66438509
- Josiah Mason: A Biography, John Thackray Bunce, 1882
- A History of Kidderminster, Rev. John Richard Burton, 1890
- Solid Citizens – Statues in Birmingham, Bridget Pugh, 1983, ISBN 0-9502636-5-6
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mason, Sir Josiah". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 840.
