More on John Passmore Edwards

Further to Ursula Jeffries’ post below, I’m really looking forward to tonight’s Centennial lecture on this remarkable Cornish newspaperman and philanthropist. I’d like to ask his biographer, Dean Evans, why Passmore Edwards twice declined a knighthood – once from Queen Victoria and once from Edward VII. The endowments that he bestowed on London alone, include:
Libraries
Pitfield Street Library, Hoxton
Whitechapel Free Library & Museum
Haggerston Library, Shoreditch
Dulwich Public Library
Edmonton Free Library
Shepherds Bush Library
St George’s in the East Library
Borough Road Library, Southwark
Plashet Library, East Ham
Acton Free Library
Limehouse Free Library
Bow Library, Roman Road, Bow
North Camberwell Library
Plaistow Free Library
St Brides Printing Library, Fleet Street
Galleries
South London Art Gallery, Camberwell
Whitechapel Art Gallery
Hospitals
Willesden Cottage Hospital
Wood Green Cottage Hospital
Hospital wing for West Ham Hospital
Tilbury Cottage Hospital
Acton Cottage Hospital & Nurses Home
East Ham Hospital
Misc.
Orphanage for National Union of Teachers, Sydenham
Canning Town Boys Club
Passmore Edwards Settlement, Bloomsbury
Sailors’ Palace, Limehouse
I reckon the next opportunity for a Passmore Edwards centennial lecture will be in 12 years’ time. So if you’re free this evening, do join us to celebrate the life of this remarkable Victorian gentleman.