John Rankin Prize

John Rankin (1845-1928) was born into a family that shared ownership of a successful international merchant navy company, Rankin, Gilmour & Co, who held a base in Liverpool. Rankin used much of his wealth for philanthropic ventures including many donations to the University of Liverpool, including this prize which was founded in 1922.

John Rankin

By Courtesy of the University of Liverpool Library (RP XXV.7.655)

John Rankin and his wife Helen Margaret Jack had three children, including their daughter Agnes who married William Rathbone; the Rathbones being a well-known Liverpool family with several generations of MPS, campaigning for social issues such as women’s rights.

The John Rankin Prize is currently awarded for best sketch designs in BA2 and BA3.

Further Reading

Lionel Budden, The Book of the Liverpool School of Architecture, Liverpool University Press, 1932
Anna Garnett, John Rankin and John Garstang: Funding Egyptology in a Pioneering Age, Forming Material Egypt Conference, University College London, 2013.

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