Thomas Barnardo

Thomas Barnardo was born in Dublin, Ireland, on July 4, 1845. He was the fourth of five children (one died in childbirth) of John Michaelis Barnardo, a furrier who was of Sephardic Jewish descent, and his second wife, Abigail, an Englishwoman and member of the Plymouth Brethren.

He and his surviving siblings grew up in Dublin. After a period spent preaching in the Dublin slums, Barnardo arrived in London to study medicine in 1866 with the aim of becoming a medical missionary. Moved by the child poverty and homelessness around him, he begun to care for destitute waifs and strays. 

In 1870 he opened the first of the "Dr Barnardo’s Homes" at 18 Stepney Causeway, London while still a student. One evening an 11-year old boy, John ‘Carrots’ Somers was turned away because the shelter was full. He was found dead two days later from malnutrition and exposure and from then on the home bore the sign ‘No Destitute Child Ever Refused Admission’. 

Thomas John Barnardo

His marriage to Sara Louise Elmslie in 1873 resulted in seven children, three of whom died in infancy. They included a daughter, Syrie Maugham, who became a notable interior designer that popularized "the all-white room".

Although Barnardo never finished his studies at the London Hospital, he used the title of 'doctor' and later secured a licentiate.

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was among the first royals to patronize a wide range of charities in the 1800s. One of those was Barnados. 

The work steadily increased until, at the time of Barnado's death, on September 19, 1905, his charity was caring for over 8,500 children in 96 homes, besides mission branches, throughout the United Kingdom. 

Barnardo died of angina pectoris in London on September 19, 1905. He arrived at his own funeral by means of the London Underground. His body was transported on the Central Line from Liverpool Street to Barkingside to be laid to rest.

Dr. Barnardo's Homes ran hundreds of children’s homes across the United Kingdom from Thomas Barnardo’s day until the mid-20th century. The charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to fostering and adoption in 1965, renaming itself Dr. Barnardo's. Following the closure of its last traditional orphanage in 1988, it took the still simpler name of Barnardo's.

Famous Barnando's children include dressmaker Bruce Oldfield and former footballer John Fashanu.