Richard Copley Christie

Who was Richard Copley Christie?

Richard Copley Christie was an English lawyer, University teacher, philanthropist and bibliophile.

He was born at Lenton in Nottinghamshire, the son of a mill owner. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford where he was tutored by Mark Pattison, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1857. He also held numerous academic appointments, notably the professorships of history and of political economy at Owens College. He always took an active interest in this college, of which he was one of the governors. In 1898 he gave the Christie Library building, designed by Alfred Waterhouse: the plan connected this on the east with the Whitworth Hall.