Edward Playfair
{{short description|English civil servant and businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name = Edward Playfair
| honorific_suffix = KCB
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|05|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|03|21|1909|05|17|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
| other_names =
| occupation = civil servant and businessman
| years_active = 1931–1983
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{marriage|Molly Rae|1941}}
| children = three daughters
}}
Sir Edward Wilder Playfair KCB (17 May 1909 – 21 March 1999) was an English civil servant and businessman.Noel Annan, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-sir-edward-playfair-1082826.html Obituary: Sir Edward Playfair], The Independent, 25 March 1999.Robert Armstrong, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101072106/ Playfair, Sir Edward Wilder (1909–1999)], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, September 2004. {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/72106}}.
Biography
Edward Playfair was born in London on 17 May 1909, the only child of Harriet Forester Leighton (1876–1967) and Dr Ernest Playfair (1871–1951), a physician. His grandmother Mary Leighton was a noted translator of medieval legend of Virgilius the Sorcerer for Andrew Lang's The Violet Fairy Book.{{cite book |last1=Raffalovich |first1=André |last2=Playfair |first2=Edward Wilder |title=Letters to Edward Playfair |date=1992 |publisher=Aylesford Press |page=18 |isbn=9781869955236 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x48eAQAAIAAJ&q=Edward+Wilder+Playfair+Leighton |accessdate=25 May 2019 |language=en}} He was educated at Eton College as a King's scholar and received a scholarship to attend King's College, Cambridge. He achieved a first class degree in classics and then studied history.
He started work at the UK government Inland Revenue in 1931. In 1934, he moved to the Treasury. He was involved in financing British universities at the time when the University Grants Committee received its funding directly from the Treasury.
In 1947, he worked for a year within the Control Commission for Germany in London. In the 1949 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB). He then continued at the Treasury until 1956 when he was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary at the War Office. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1957 New Year Honours.{{Citation | editor-first = Charles | editor-last= Mosley | editor-link= Charles Mosley (genealogist) | year = 2003 | title = Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage | edition = 107th | publisher = Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd | publication-place = Wilmington, Delaware | volume = 1 | page = 269 | postscript = | isbn = 978-0-9711966-2-9 }} (Cited at [http://www.thepeerage.com/p13357.htm#i133561 thePeerage.com], which accessed 18 July 2020) He was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence (1960–61).
In the 1960s and 70s, he worked in business. He was the Chairman of International Computers and Tabulators (1961–65), a Director of National Westminster Bank (1961–79), and a Director of Glaxo Holdings (1961–79). During his time at ICT, he was President of the British Computer Society (1963–65).[http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.1635 BCS Past Presidents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003141357/http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.1635 |date=3 October 2007 }}, British Computer Society, UK. In 1966 he declared himself a "hater of St Pancras" and thus was opposed to Sir John Betjeman's campaign to save the Sir George Gilbert Scott designed Midland Grand Hotel.{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6230106.stm |title=Eyesore or gem: St Pancras |publisher=BBC |date= 24 June 2007 |accessdate=2 May 2014}}
Playfair became a trustee (1967–74) and for two years Chairman of the Board (1972–74) of the National Gallery in London. He was also a member of the governing bodies of Imperial College (1958–83) and University College London.
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- André Raffalovich, [https://openlibrary.org/b/OL1352767M/Letters_to_Edward_Playfair Letters to Edward Playfair], Aylesford Press, 1992. {{ISBN|1-869955-22-6}}, {{ISBN|1-869955-23-4}}.
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{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir Richard Powell}}
{{s-ttl|title=Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Defence|years=1960–1961}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir Robert Heatlie Scott}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Playfair, Edward}}
Category:Businesspeople from London
Category:People educated at Eton College
Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Category:English civil servants
Category:English chief executives
Category:People associated with the National Gallery, London
Category:People associated with Imperial College London
Category:People associated with University College London
Category:Presidents of the British Computer Society
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Deaths from cancer in England