Like most Cambridge colleges, Queens' was founded and built on philanthropic donations, and still today is reliant on the generosity of our alumni and friends. We are most grateful to all our supporters, especially to our principle Benefactors, listed below.
Founders
Our first founder was ANDREW DOKETT, who obtained a charter of incorporation for a College under the title of the College of St Bernard on the third day of December, 1446.
On the petition of MARGARET OF ANJOU, Queen Consort of Henry VI, a new charter was issued in 1448 in which licence was granted to Queen Margaret to refound the College under the title of the Queens' College of St Margaret and St Bernard. Her example was followed by ELIZABETH, Queen Consort of Edward VI, who became Patroness of the College in 1465 and in 1475 gave us our first Statutes.
From the fifteenth century
KING HENRY VI.
JOHN SOMERSET, Chancellor of the Exchequer, principal framer of our first Statutes.
KING RICHARD III, who gave us large estates for the founding of fellowships and other purposes; but these grants were resumed by King Henry VII.
From the sixteenth century
ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM, Lady Margaret's Reader in Divinity, who at the invitation of John Fisher, our President, resided and taught in the College and here prepared the first printed edition of the New Testament in Greek; he left us a collected edition of his works.
SIR THOMAS SMITH, Fellow, Regius professor of Civil Law, principal Secretary of State to King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I, who left us all his Latin and Greek books and also his great globe made by himself.
From the seventeenth century
JOHN SMITH, Fellow and Dean, one of the most learned philosophers and divines of the seventeenth century.
From the eighteenth century
DAVID HUGHES, Vice-President, who left us above two thousand books and founded the prizes that bear his name.
From the nineteenth century
ISAAC MILNER, President, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, and Dean of Carlisle.
THOMAS PENNY WHITE, Fellow, who founded the prize that bears his name. GEORGE PHILLIPS, President, founder of the organ scholarship.
From the twentieth century
We remember particularly from among many benefactors:
ARTHUR WRIGHT, Vice-President and for many years Tutor, to whose efforts the building of our present Chapel was largely due.
ANDREW MUNRO, Vice-President and Bursar, who left us a large sum of money to found scholarships and studentships in mathematics and physics.
SUSIE MARIE WILLIAMS, who left a legacy for general College purposes and endowed the Northam prize for economics, in memory of SIR REGINALD NORTHAM, member of the College.
ELISABETH MACHIN, widow of KENNETH EWART MACHIN formerly Senior Tutor, who left the major part of the residue of her estate to be added to the endowment.
SIR HUMPHREY CRIPPS, the most generous benefactor of the College in modern times, who provided the resources to build Cripps Court and Lyon Court.
From the twenty-first century
DR JOHN BANBURY who left money to establish a Scholarship Award, in his name, for Undergraduate Students that are in financial need, with a preference for those reading Engineering.
GILLIAN HART, WIDOW OF HENRY HART, DEAN who bequeathed funds for general purposes. These funds will be used by the College to support music in Chapel and for student hardship.
ANTHONY LYSTER a most generous benefactor, who left the major part of his estate to the College. His legacy endows five Fellowship posts.
THELMA SEEAR who left a legacy to endow a Fellowship in Architecture & Art History at Queens’.
JOHN COLLINS who established a graduate bursarial fund in his own name.