John Owens (1790 – 29 July 1846) was an English merchant and philanthropist, whose bequest helped found part of the University of Manchester.
Life and career
Owens was born in Manchester, England, in 1790. His father was Owen Owens, a native of Holywell in Flintshire, Wales, who married Sarah Humphreys in 1788 and soon after moved with her to the rapidly industrialising town of Manchester. Once there, he became a prosperous merchant.
Historians such as H. B. Charlton and William Whyte have noted that details of the life of John Owens are sparse and that, according to Whyte, he is historically a "shadowy" character.
right|thumb|The grave of John Owens in Manchester
From 1825, the Owens family were for 18 years investors in the cotton-spinning business of Samuel Faulkner,
Philanthropy
Owen Owens died in January 1844 and John Owens made a final will in 1845, having rushed through a provisional document in the previous May when he had become very ill. From very soon after his father's death, Owens had desired to bequeath some of his estate for charitable purposes, including the foundation of a college in Manchester. It is sometimes claimed, although there is no evidence to support it, that this desire to fund a new college was done at the suggestion of his friends, George Faulkner and Samuel Fletcher. Historian Brian Clapp also believes there is probably no truth in claims that Owens had intended to leave his entire estate to Faulkner, since the final document left a considerable proportion to other people.
Owens died at Nelson Street on 29 July 1846. He was buried at St John's Church, Manchester: the memorial to him there was subsequently moved into the John Owens Building of the university.
The eponymous Owens College, Manchester, opened in 1851 and is now part of the University of Manchester.
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