Washington Merritt Grant Singer (1866-1934) was an English

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 and prominent racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 owner.

Born in Yonkers, New York

Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

 he was the third child of Isabella Eugenie Boyer

Isabella Eugenie Boyer

Isabella Eugenie Boyer was a French model.-Biography:She was born in Paris to French and English parents. She married Isaac Merritt Singer, the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Co., in New York, in 1863 when Isaac was 52 and Isabella was only 22...

 and sewing machine

Sewing machine

A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...

 magnate, Isaac Singer

Isaac Singer

Isaac Merritt Singer was an inventor, actor, and entrepreneur. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company...

. The family moved to England when Washington Singer was still a child. He was raised at Oldway Mansion

Oldway Mansion

Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon, England. It was built as a private residence for Isaac Merritt Singer , and rebuilt by his third son Paris Singer in the style of the Palace of Versailles.-The mansion and gardens:...

 at Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

 on the Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 coast.

He married Daphne Helen Travers and they adopted a son, Grant Allen Singer (1915-1942). He and his wife lived at Steartfield House and built a stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

 at the junction of Manor Road and old Torquay Road. A Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 enthusiast, Singer won the 1905 St. Leger Stakes

St. Leger Stakes

The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...

 with the colt Challacombe, trained by Alec Taylor, Jr.

Alec Taylor, Jr.

Alec Taylor, Jr. was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who followed in the footsteps of his highly successful father, Alec Taylor, Sr.....

 and the 1932 2,000 Guineas with Orwell. The Washington Singer Stakes

Washington Singer Stakes

The Washington Singer Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...

 race at Newbury Racecourse

Newbury Racecourse

Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps...

 is named in his honour.

In 1906, Singer purchased Norman Court, a 20000 acres (80.9 km²) estate in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 that included the villages of West Dean in Wiltshire and West Tytherley in Hampshire and the parishes of Buckholt and Frenchmoor and parts of Farley and Pitton

Pitton

Pitton is also the name of a small village in the Gower Peninsula, Wales.Pitton is a village located about east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, just off the A30 London Road. It has a primary school , a village shop and post office, a pub , a church, a park, a village hall and a small...

. The estate was bequeathed to his son Grant Singer but he was killed in action during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 at the 1942 Second Battle of El Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...

 while serving with the Royal Armoured Corps

Royal Armoured Corps

The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...

, 10th Royal Hussars

10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)

The 10th Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1715 to 1969.-Early history:In response to the Jacobite Rebellion, the regiment was raised in 1715 as Humphrey Gore's Regiment of Dragoons...

. Sold by his widow, in 1952 it became the private Norman Court Preparatory School.

Washington Singer became a benefactor of a number of different causes and was a substantial donor to the University College of the southwest of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which later became the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

. One of the university's buildings, which is home to the Department of Psychology, is named in his honour.