Albert H. Maggs

Who is Albert H. Maggs?

Albert H. Maggs was an Australian bookmaker and philanthropist. He founded the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award of the University of Melbourne in 1966, and he was posthumously honoured with the creation of the Albert Maggs Scholarship for Postgraduate Medical Research by the St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research.

Albert Hartley Maggs was born in Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. He was one of five children of a shopkeeper. In his youth he was a fine tennis player. He qualified for the Wimbledon Championships, and he won the All Ireland Men's Championship.

At University High School, Melbourne he studied actuarial science, which skills he later used in his bookmaking business. He served in the military in World War II.

He was a pianist who studied at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium, and a patron of the musical and theatrical arts. In 1966 he contributed an initial $10,000 to found the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award, an annual prize awarded by the University of Melbourne for a commissioned work. He later made more cash donations to support the award.