Thomas Leverton Donaldson
Thomas Leverton Donaldson (19 October 1795 – 1 August 1885) was an English architect, notable as a pioneer in architectural education, as a co-founder and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a winner of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.
Life
Donaldson was born in Bloomsbury Square, London, the eldest son of architect, James Donaldson. His maternal uncle was Thomas Leverton (1743–1824),[1] a distinguished architect sometimes credited with the south range of Bedford Square in London.[2]
Donaldson travelled overseas after leaving school, obtaining a clerical job with a merchant on the Cape of Good Hope before volunteering for an expedition to attack the French-controlled island of Mauritius. Once back in London, he was employed in his father's office, before visiting Italy and Greece to broaden his experience. His first significant work was the church of Holy Trinity in South Kensington, London (built 1826-1829).[3]
With Jacques Ignace Hittorff and Charles Robert Cockerell, Donaldson was also a member of the committee formed in 1836 to determine whether the Elgin Marbles and other Greek statuary in the British Museum had originally been coloured (see Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects for 1842).
Donaldson pioneered the academic study of architecture and in 1841 became the first Professor of Architecture at University College, London (UCL) - a post he retained until 1865. He was also a co-founder of the Royal Institute of British Architects,[4] being President in 1863-4 and being awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1851.
Donaldson reworked substantial sections of the Wilkins building at UCL, and designed the Flaxman Gallery and library buildings. He also designed All Saints Church in Gordon Street, London, and was involved with the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Donaldson died in Upper Bedford Place, Bloomsbury, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
His nephew was the artist Andrew Brown Donaldson.
References
- ↑ Thomas Leverton's memorial at Waltham Abbey, Essex, bears the inscription "T.Leverton Donaldson, Nephew And Godson, Arc't." (The Memorial Inscriptions in the Church of the Holy Cross and Saint Lawrence at Waltham Abbey, Waltham Abbey Historical Society, Millennium Project No. 22, additions and corrections slip, 2009.)
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.htb.org.uk/history/ Holy Trinity, Brompton
- ↑ Port, M.H. "Founders of the Royal Institute of British Architects (act. 1834–1835)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
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