Thomas Phillips (educational benefactor) facts for kids

Thomas Phillips (born July 6, 1760 – died June 30, 1851) was a generous person who helped education. He gave a lot of money and books to St David's College, Lampeter. He also started Llandovery College in Wales. Phillips became very wealthy, partly from a sugar plantation. After slavery was ended, he received money as compensation. He spent his later years giving away his fortune to help others.

Phillips was born in London, England. His parents were from Llandegley, Radnorshire, Wales. He spent some of his early life in Wales. He believed that climbing hills as a child helped him live a long life. He first trained to be an apothecary (like a pharmacist) in Hay-on-Wye. Later, he studied with a famous surgeon, John Hunter, in London.

In 1780, Phillips became a qualified surgeon. He then joined the Royal Navy for two years. He worked on ships like the Danae and the Hind. He traveled to places like the Saint Lawrence area, Montreal, and Quebec. After leaving the navy, he joined the East India Company. He spent many years working as a surgeon and doing business in India. He also visited Botany Bay in Australia, China, Penang, Chennai, and Kolkata. In 1798, on his way home, his ship was captured by French pirates. He was held for a short time in Bordeaux.

In 1800, he married Althea Edwards. They did not have any children. Phillips returned to India and became a top surgeon. He even traveled with soldiers during a campaign in Nepal. He helped set up mobile hospitals to care for injured soldiers. Phillips also started small libraries for soldiers in India. He bought a sugar plantation on the island of St Vincent. In 1817, he returned to London as a very rich man.

Helping Others Through Philanthropy

After retiring, Thomas Phillips lived in London. He wanted to give away his money and see it used well. He spent his time doing good deeds and being kind. His main goal was to buy thousands of books. He then donated these books to many reading rooms and science places.

Donating Books to Lampeter

Phillips was a huge helper for St David’s College, Lampeter. He gave over 22,500 books to their library. This collection is now known as the Thomas Phillips Collection. He also set up six scholarships. These scholarships gave £24 a year to boys from Breconshire and Radnorshire. At the time, books were not very expensive. This allowed Phillips to buy rare and old books at a low cost. His gifts included six old handwritten books from the Middle Ages. He also gave about fifty incunables, which are books printed before 1501. The books covered many topics. These included travel, nature, literature, and philosophy. The books were sent to Lampeter in many groups between 1834 and 1852. They likely traveled by ship to Carmarthen and then by road.

Founding Llandovery College

Thomas Phillips also founded Llandovery College in 1847. He had first offered to fund a Welsh language professor at Lampeter. But the college there said no. So, Phillips decided to start his own college. Llandovery College was first called the Welsh Educational Institution. Phillips gave £4,666 and a library of 7,000 books to start it.

Supporting the Welsh Language

It is not known if Phillips spoke Welsh himself. However, he cared deeply about the Welsh language surviving. He made sure that Welsh was taught regularly at the college. He also said that for part of each day, only Welsh should be spoken and used for teaching. The first stone for the college was laid on December 13, 1849.

Phillips continued to attend meetings at the London College of Surgeons. He went almost until the end of his life. Thomas Phillips passed away in 1851. He was buried next to his wife in the crypt of St Pancras church in London. When he died, 50,000 books were found in his home. All of these books were meant to be given to different libraries.