Frederick Attenborough
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frederick Levi Attenborough (1887–1973) was a British academic.
Attenborough was principal of University College, Leicester from 1931 to 1951, and lived with his family on campus in College House (which now houses the University's careers service).
He was married to Mary Clegg (died 1961). They had three children:
- Richard Samuel, Lord Attenborough
- Sir David Frederick Attenborough
- John Michael Attenborough
During the Second World War, the Attenboroughs took in two Jewish refugee girls who lived with them in College House. One of them encouraged son David's fascination with the natural world by giving him a piece of amber.
Under Attenborough's guidance, the University College grew in size and reputation and eventually became the University of Leicester, receiving its Royal Charter in 1957.
The university's Attenborough Building, which includes an 18-storey tower and is the tallest building on the campus, was named in his honour. The building was opened in 1970. Attenborough was by this stage quite frail, so the building was opened on his behalf by his youngest son John.
[edit] References
- History of College House
- Frederick Levi Attenborough – thepeerage.com
- David Attenborough – NNDB (page contains information about Frederick's family)
 |
This biography of a United Kingdom academic is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
