Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins, (2 November 1859 – 2 December 1905) was a British businessman and civil servant.

Life

Dawkins was born in London, the son of Clinton George Dawkins, one time Consul-General in Venice. He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent SchoolDay and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He succeeded

Alfred Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From De ...

as private secretary to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Goschen in 1889. He later served overseas as undersecretary for finance in Egypt from 1895 to 1899. His final role was as financial advisor to

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative Party (UK) ...

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kin ...

in 1899. During 1899, he accepted an offer from the financier

John Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

of full partnership in the London branch of his firm, J. S. Morgan & Co., where he remained until his death in 1905. He was a member of the Coefficients dining club of social reformers set up in 1902 by the Fabian campaigners Sidney and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term ''collective bargaining''. She ...

. In recognition of Dawkins' work in chairing a Committee reviewing the Administration of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...

, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and invested as such by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ha ...

on 24 October 1902. He had been made a Companion (CB) of the same order in November the previous year. In 1902 Dawkins purchased the country estate of Sir Walter Rockcliff Farquhar at

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was e ...

. Dawkins was involved in the remodelling of the house at the centre of the estate. Dawkins died from heart disease on 2 December 1905. He was survived by his wife Louise, daughter of Charles Johnston, and his daughter Dorothy. He was cremated and his ashes spread at

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regis ...

on 6 December. He was the three-times great uncle to British

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

. Much like his descendant, well known as an advocate of atheism, Sir Clinton Dawkins was known for being a strident positivist at Balliol. The Balliol rhyme published about him reads:

References

External links

Record for Sir Clinton Dawkins
at the

National Archives (UK) , type = Non-ministerial department , seal = , nativename = , logo = Logo_of_The_National_Archives_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , juris ...

Social and Diplomatic Memories
by Sir James Rennell Rodd 1859 births 1905 deaths English atheists People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Mayfair 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1850s-stub