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

David Copperfield Children's Library

David Copperfield Children's Library

Founded by the American Rev. J. Brett Langstaff.  The picture is from 1947. The New York Times, 19 March 1922 carries a letter reporting on a performance of a play for the benefit of this library....

Group, Children, Museums / Libraries

1 memorial
Harvey Hinds

Harvey Hinds

Harvey William Hinds, politician, clergyman and youth campaigner. Labour Southwark Councillor. Champion of Burgess Park and education, leisure and recreation. Elected to the Greater London Council ...

Person, Children, Gardens / Agriculture, Politics & Administration, Religion

1 memorial
Peggy Jones

Peggy Jones

One of the 11 "children of England" present on 7th July 1933 when The Princess Royal laid a foundation stone for a nurses home for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Person, Children

1 memorial
Anne Morkill

Anne Morkill

One of the 11 "children of England" present on 7th July 1933 when The Princess Royal laid a foundation stone for a nurses home for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Person, Children

1 memorial
Wyndham-Ashley Mission

Wyndham-Ashley Mission

At 112 Regency Street, SW1, between Douglas Street and Rampayne Street. In 1921 the secretary was R. C. Hart-Dyke. (From Street Directory). Amalgamated with the One Tun Mission in 1930. From Westm...

Group, Children, Social Welfare

1 memorial