David (Dafydd) Edward Lewis (7 March 1866 – 17 August 1941) was a Welsh-born businessman and philanthropist who emigrated to Australia and became well-known and successful there.[1]

Lewis was born in Llanrhystud near Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire, Wales, the son of David Lewis, a farmer, and his wife Catherine, née Mason.[1]

Lewis migrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 1890; opening a drapery shop in 1902 which became a successful business. In 1928 he donated £2000 to the engineering school of the University of Melbourne for laboratory extensions.[1]

Scholarship funds

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Lewis bequeathed a £700,000 endowment that after his death established the Dafydd Lewis Trust. This provided scholarships for full-time degree courses (other than in theology, arts, music or education) at the University of Melbourne for boys from Victorian state schools whose parents could not afford to pay for a university education.

Although the original scholarships helped to support post-graduate education as well as a first degree, as of 2024 only undergraduate study is supported, for up to three years.[2]

In 2004 a parallel scholarship fund, the Mary Jane Lewis Foundation was established to give scholarships to female university students in Victoria at the undergraduate level.[3] The fund is named after Dafydd Lewis' second wife Mary Jane Jones Evans.[4][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d T. A. Hazell, 'Lewis, David Edward (Dafydd) (1866 - 1941)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, p. 86. Retrieved 5 September 2010
  2. ^ Scholarships for young men, retrieved 2 September 2024
  3. ^ Turning ambition into reality, retrieved 2 September 2024
  4. ^ About the Dafydd Lewis Trust Scholarship, retrieved 2 September 2024
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