Thomas Coram
Philanthropist
Born Circa 1668
Died 29th March 1751
Plaque reads:
Thomas Coram was born at Lyme Regis, Dorset in 1668 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, he established the Foundling Hospital for which a Royal Charter was obtained. He died in 1751 and his body now rests in the Church of Saint Andrew, Holborn. The great pioneer work begun by Captain Coram is under the name of the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. This statue was erected by the Governors in 1963.
