
Elkan Rex Makin, (20 August 1925 – 26 June 2017) usually known as Rex Makin, was a
solicitor and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
who practised in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, England, for over sixty years. He was most noted for his involvement with
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
' early career and subsequently high-profile cases such as the
Hillsborough
Hillsborough may refer to:
Australia
*Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie
Canada
*Hillsborough, New Brunswick
*Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick
* Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County
*Hillsborough (electoral d ...
and
Heysel Stadium disasters, the
Walton sextuplets and the re-opening of the
Cameo Murder case. A
freeman of the
City of Liverpool, he also supported the arts and held an honorary
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
ship at
Liverpool John Moores University. He also wrote a weekly column in the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...
''.
Early life
Born in
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...
in 1925, Makin was the only child of Joe and May Makin.
His family was Jewish and moved to Liverpool in the 1850s and his great-great grandfather set up shop as a seamens' outfitter in Old Hall Street. His father was brought up on Park Lane in the
Chinatown area of Liverpool, where he made and supplied
trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Computing
* Trunk (software), in rev ...
s to seamen.
Makin studied law at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, gaining his
LL.B in 1945 and
LL.M in 1947.
Career
Makin was the family solicitor to
Brian Epstein, who in 1963 sought his advice on setting up a perpetually binding contract between himself and
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
; however, Makin advised Epstein that such an agreement would be legally indefensible.
[ He has been credited with inventing the term "Beatlemania". Following Epstein's death in 1967, Makin arranged his funeral.]
Honours
In 2003 he was appointed a Freeman of the City of Liverpool, the first solicitor to receive that honour. He said at the time
References
;Notes
;Sources
Outrage as city conspiracy hearing slaps ban on Makin (Larry Neild, Daily Post)
Rex Makin obituary, The Guardian
11 July 2017.
External links
E Rex Makin & Co
Rex Makin Gallery
Alder Hey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makin, Rex
1925 births
2017 deaths
English solicitors
Lawyers from Liverpool
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
People from Birkenhead
English Jews
20th-century English lawyers