{{Short description|British businessman and philanthropist}} {{About||the publisher|Edwin Davies (publisher)|the army general|Edwin D. Patrick}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use British English|date=August 2015}} {{Infobox person | name = Eddy Davies | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1946|6|18|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Little Lever]], England | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|11|1946|6|18|df=y}} | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = [[Farnworth Grammar School]] | alma_mater = [[Durham University]] | employer = | occupation =Businessman, philanthropist | title = Lord of the Manor of Farnworth | term = | predecessor = | successor = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = Susan Davies | children = 2 | parents = | relatives = }} '''Eddie Davies''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}} (18 June 1946 – 11 September 2018) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as chairman of the [[Strix Group]] from 1984 to 2006. He was the owner of [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.]] until March 2016, when [[Dean Holdsworth]] fronted a consortium to take over the club. The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in [[London]] are named in his honour.
==Early life== Eddie Davies was born on 18 June 1946 in [[Little Lever]], near [[Bolton]], [[Lancashire]], England.<ref name="debretts">[http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/24183/Eddie-DAVIES Debretts: Eddie Davies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704234316/http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/24183/Edwin-DAVIES |date=4 July 2015 }}</ref><ref name="manchestereveningnews">[http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/eddie-davies-profile-1159703 Eddie Davies profile], ''[[Manchester Evening News]]'', 12 August 2004</ref> He was educated at the [[Farnworth Grammar School]] in [[Farnworth]], [[Lancashire]], England.<ref name="debretts"/><ref name="manchestereveningnews"/> He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from [[Durham University]].<ref name="debretts"/><ref name="bloomberg">[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=34056016&privcapId=99023619&previousCapId=99023619&previousTitle=SQUARESTONE%2520BRASIL%2520LTD Bloomberg: Eddie Davies OBE]</ref>
==Career== Davies started his career at [[Avon Rubber]].<ref name="bloomberg"/> He worked in management at the [[Scapa Group]] from 1968 to 1984.<ref name="debretts"/> He served as chairman of the [[Strix Group]] from 1984 to 2006.<ref name="debretts"/>
He joined the board of directors of [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.]] in 1999.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/> By 2003, he became the majority shareholder of Burnden Leisure, which owned Bolton Wanderers.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/> In 2011–2013, he was still the owner of the club.<ref name="guardianjamie">Jamie Jackson, [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/31/bolton-wanderers-debt-increase Bolton Wanderers clinging on thanks to owner Eddie Davies's generosity], ''The Guardian'', 31 December 2013</ref><ref name="guardianmatt">Matt Scott, [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/sep/22/bolton-wanderers-debts-gary-cahill Bolton Wanderers have more to worry about than 'crisis-hit' Arsenal], ''The Guardian'', 22 September 2011</ref> In October 2014, it was announced that Davies was ready to sell the club.<ref>Mark Ogden, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/bolton-wanderers/11151710/Bolton-Wanderers-for-sale-reveals-chairman-Phil-Gartside.html Bolton Wanderers for sale, reveals chairman Phil Gartside], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 October 2014</ref> Davies wrote-off loans to Bolton which, including interest, totalled approximately £175 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34908977|title=Bolton owner Eddie Davies to write off loans to ease takeover|publisher=BBC News|date=24 November 2015|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> Shortly after his death, it was revealed that, four days before he died, Davies had given Bolton £5 million to help save the club from administration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45586738|title=Eddie Davies: Ex-Bolton Wanderers owner helped save club from administration before death|publisher=BBC News|date=20 September 2018|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>
He served on the boards of directors of Moonshift Investments, Sula Group, and Squarestone Brasil.<ref name="bloomberg"/> He has been a Fellow of the [[Chartered Institute of Management Accountants]] since 1985 and the [[Chartered Management Institute]] since 1996.<ref name="bloomberg"/> He became an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) for services to industry in 2000.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/>
As of 2004, he was the 558th richest man in the United Kingdom, with an estimated wealth of £60million.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/>
==Philanthropy== He was for a time a Trustee of the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London.<ref name="debretts"/> The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries at the V&A are the result of charitable donations from Davies and his wife.<ref>[http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/galleries/level-3/room-87-constable-turner-landscape/ Victoria & Albert Museum: Room 87: Constable, Turner & the Exhibition Landscape]</ref> Those five galleries include 200 paintings by [[Thomas Gainsborough]], [[John Constable]], [[J. M. W. Turner]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], [[Tintoretto]], [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]], [[Edgar Degas]] and [[Eugène Delacroix]].<ref name="vamrefurbishment">[http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/refurbishment-of-the-paintings-galleries/ Refurbishment of the paintings galleries, 2003: The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries]</ref>
He made a charitable contribution of £100,000 to the [[Royal Bolton Hospital]] in [[Bolton]] for the establishment of a coronary care unit.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/> He also made charitable gift to the [[Manchester Business School]],<ref name="bloomberg"/> part of the [[University of Manchester]], which led to the establishment of the Eddie Davies Library.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/locationsandopeninghours/eddiedavies/ |title=Manchester Business School: Eddie Davies Library |access-date=14 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309224509/http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/locationsandopeninghours/eddiedavies/ |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He received an honorary doctorate in 2008.<ref name="debretts"/>
He became a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for charitable services in 2011.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/dec/31/new-year-honours-list-gbe New Year honours list: GBEs, DBEs and CBEs], 31 December 2011</ref>
==Personal life== He was married to Susan Davies.<ref name="vamrefurbishment"/> They had two children.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/> They resided on the [[Isle of Man]].<ref name="guardianmatt"/> He underwent [[coronary artery bypass surgery]] in 1996.<ref name="manchestereveningnews"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Eddie}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:2018 deaths]] [[Category:People from Little Lever]] [[Category:People educated at Farnworth Grammar School]] [[Category:Alumni of Durham University]] [[Category:Bolton Wanderers F.C.]] [[Category:People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum]] [[Category:Manx businesspeople]] [[Category:20th-century British philanthropists]] [[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]