David Lewis (19 December 1823 – 4 December 1885), was a British merchant and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. The founder of
Lewis's
Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...
department store in Liverpool, in 1879 he conceived the idea of what is claimed to be the world's first
Christmas grotto, entitled 'Christmas Fairyland'.
This first is listed in the ''
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
''.
Biography
Lewis was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1823, the son of Wolfe Levy, a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
merchant. Settling in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1840 and changing his surname from Levy to Lewis, he worked for the tailors and outfitters Benjamin Hyam & Co. By 1856 he had accumulated enough capital to start his own business as a boys' clothier in Ranelagh Street. Subsequently, he opened a second establishment in Bold Street; and thereafter he gradually developed one of the largest retail businesses of the kind in England, erecting an establishment of the "Universal Provider" or
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
class (
Lewis's
Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...
). Similar stores were founded by him in Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, and Birmingham.
Philanthropy
Lewis's ample means were freely given in aid of charitable and philanthropic works. He headed the local subscription list for the persecuted
Jews of Russia with a donation of £1,000 ($5,000), and gave large sums in support of the synagogue. For many years he held the position of warden and treasurer of the
Old Hebrew Congregation, Liverpool.
He died in 1885 and is buried next to his wife Bertha in Deane Road cemetery, Kensington, Liverpool.
At his death he bequeathed very large sums (nearly a half-million sterling) for the erection of hospitals and other philanthropic institutions, which constitute some of the most important in Liverpool.
Legacy
The
David Lewis Centre based in
Little Warford,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, a charity providing residential accommodation for people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions, continues to operate under the David Lewis name, having been established with the funds from his estate.
David Lewis Street in central Liverpool, connecting Gradwell and Fleet Streets, is named after him.
See also
*
Lewis's
Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...
References
Sources
*''Jewish Chronicle,'' 11 Dec. 1885, p. 12.
*''Liverpool Leader,'' 6 Dec. 1875.
* Asa Briggs, Friends of the People: The Centenary History of Lewis's (London: B.T. Batsford, 1956).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, David
1820s births
1885 deaths
English Jews
Businesspeople from Liverpool
British businesspeople in retailing
19th-century English philanthropists
19th-century English businesspeople