Stephen Ian Fairbairn (14 April 1896 – 5 December 1968)[1] was a British financier and rower who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, and later rose to the position of chairman of the M&G fund management company.[2]
Fairbairn was the son of Steve Fairbairn and his wife Eleanor née Sharwood.[3] He went to school at Eton.[4]
Fairbairn married Cynthia Isabelle Theresa Arbuthnot, daughter of Gerald Arbuthnot, MP for Burnley on 27 July 1925. They had two children and were divorced in 1941.[1] He was married a second time in 1941, to Esmée V. H. Bethell (also known as Esmée Stobart from her earlier marriage, from which she had two sons).[5] She was killed in an air-raid by a flying bomb in 1944.[6]: 6 [4]
In 1961 he created the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as a memorial to his second wife, transferring his personal holding in M&G Group plc to the trust. This endowment allowed it to become one of the larger charities in the UK.[4][7]
Careeredit
Militaryedit
After leaving school, Fairbairn attended Royal Military College Sandhurst, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards on 11 November 1914.[8] He was posted to France on 19 May 1915,[9] having just been promoted to lieutenant on 14 May.[10] He transferred to the Guards Machine Gun Regiment on 12 August 1918,[11] and was promoted captain on 18 October 1918.[12] He ceased to be employed with the Guards Machine Gun Regiment on 31 January 1919,[13] and resigned his commission on 1 May 1919.[14] He was badly wounded during the war.[4]
Fairbairn appears to have held a reserve commission during the Second World War.[15]
After the First World War, Fairbairn worked at the London Stock Exchange and in Paris for several years. He also studied at the London School of Economics. He pioneered the unit trust industry at M&G Investments which he joined in 1935 as an investment manager. From 1943 he was chair of M&G.[4] He believed that investments in equities should be available to everyone so that there was a wider ownership of stakes in the nation's economy.[6] In 1955 he became chair of the parent group, White Drummond. He resigned as chair of both organisations in 1967.[4]
^Medal card of Fairbairn, S I, DocumentsOnline, The National Archives (fee usually required to view pdf of original medal card). Retrieved on 4 February 2010.
^"Rowing. A Race At Putney". Sport. The Times. No. 42074. London. 14 April 1919. col C, p. 5.
^Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839–1939 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
^Page, Geoffrey (1991). Hear The Boat Sing. Kingswood Press. ISBN0-413-65410-9.
^Burnell, Richard (1989). Henley Royal Regatta: A celebration of 150 years. William Heinemann. ISBN0-434-98134-6.
fairbairn, rower, stephen, fairbairn, april, 1896, december, 1968, british, financier, rower, competed, 1924, summer, olympics, later, rose, position, chairman, fund, management, company, fairbairnbornstephen, fairbairn14, april, 1896melbourne, australiadied5,. Stephen Ian Fairbairn 14 April 1896 5 December 1968 1 was a British financier and rower who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and later rose to the position of chairman of the M amp G fund management company 2 Ian FairbairnBornStephen Ian Fairbairn14 April 1896Melbourne AustraliaDied5 December 1968 1968 12 05 aged 72 Chelsea London Great BritainOrganizationThames Rowing ClubKnown forRowingSpouseCynthia Isabelle Theresa Arbuthnot divorced 1941 Children2RelativesSteve Fairbairn father Gerald Arbuthnot father in law Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 2 1 Military 2 2 Rowing 2 3 Finance 2 4 Politics 3 ReferencesPersonal life editFairbairn was the son of Steve Fairbairn and his wife Eleanor nee Sharwood 3 He went to school at Eton 4 Fairbairn married Cynthia Isabelle Theresa Arbuthnot daughter of Gerald Arbuthnot MP for Burnley on 27 July 1925 They had two children and were divorced in 1941 1 He was married a second time in 1941 to Esmee V H Bethell also known as Esmee Stobart from her earlier marriage from which she had two sons 5 She was killed in an air raid by a flying bomb in 1944 6 6 4 In 1961 he created the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation as a memorial to his second wife transferring his personal holding in M amp G Group plc to the trust This endowment allowed it to become one of the larger charities in the UK 4 7 Career editMilitary edit After leaving school Fairbairn attended Royal Military College Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards on 11 November 1914 8 He was posted to France on 19 May 1915 9 having just been promoted to lieutenant on 14 May 10 He transferred to the Guards Machine Gun Regiment on 12 August 1918 11 and was promoted captain on 18 October 1918 12 He ceased to be employed with the Guards Machine Gun Regiment on 31 January 1919 13 and resigned his commission on 1 May 1919 14 He was badly wounded during the war 4 Fairbairn appears to have held a reserve commission during the Second World War 15 Rowing edit He was a member of Thames Rowing Club as was his father taking part in a race on the Thames at Putney on 12 April 1919 16 In 1920 he was runner up in Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta in a coxless pair with Bruce Logan 17 In 1923 Fairbairn stroked the Thames crew which won the Grand Challenge Cup and was again stroke in the Thames crew that made up the eight rowing for Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics finishing fourth 4 18 He was Captain of Thames again following his father in 1933 a vice president from 1927 to 1967 and President from 1967 until his death a year later 19 He was a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta from 1948 until his death 20 Finance edit After the First World War Fairbairn worked at the London Stock Exchange and in Paris for several years He also studied at the London School of Economics He pioneered the unit trust industry at M amp G Investments which he joined in 1935 as an investment manager From 1943 he was chair of M amp G 4 He believed that investments in equities should be available to everyone so that there was a wider ownership of stakes in the nation s economy 6 In 1955 he became chair of the parent group White Drummond He resigned as chair of both organisations in 1967 4 Politics edit Fairbairn was the Unionist candidate for Burnley his first father in law s old constituency in the 1924 and 1929 general elections on both occasions he came second behind Labour s Arthur Henderson 21 References edit a b The Descendants of Sir William Arbuthnot usurped Ian Fairbairn Olympedia Retrieved 30 October 2021 Stephen Ian Fairbairn The Peerage 31 May 2009 a b c d e f g Mr Ian Fairbairn Obituaries The Times No 57430 London 10 December 1968 col F p 10 Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Annual Report 2010 Esmee Fairbairn Foundation 2011 p 68 Retrieved 3 December 2020 a b Remembering Ian Fairbairn Esnee Fairbairn Trust Retrieved 3 December 2020 Esmee Fairbairn Foundation No 28969 The London Gazette 10 November 1914 p 9141 Medal card of Fairbairn S I DocumentsOnline The National Archives fee usually required to view pdf of original medal card Retrieved on 4 February 2010 No 29233 The London Gazette Supplement 16 July 1915 p 7043 No 31055 The London Gazette Supplement 6 December 1918 p 14538 No 31068 The London Gazette 13 December 1918 p 14728 No 31211 The London Gazette 1st supplement 28 February 1919 p 3005 No 31320 The London Gazette 1st supplement 29 April 1919 p 5465 No 37552 The London Gazette 30 April 1946 p 2122 Rowing A Race At Putney Sport The Times No 42074 London 14 April 1919 col C p 5 Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839 1939 Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Ian Fairbairn Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 Retrieved 13 September 2018 Page Geoffrey 1991 Hear The Boat Sing Kingswood Press ISBN 0 413 65410 9 Burnell Richard 1989 Henley Royal Regatta A celebration of 150 years William Heinemann ISBN 0 434 98134 6 British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 1949 FWS Craig Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ian Fairbairn rower amp oldid 1167949928, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
