Potter, William Ian (Ian) (1902 - 1994)

Summary

Sir Ian Potter was a stockbroker and financier who was the Principal Partner in Ian Potter & Co. 1935-1967. He was highly influential in financial affairs in a wide range of activities. In the period after WWII he was adept at raising capital for industrial expansion. In the international sphere he was the Commonwealth representative at the Conference on Rural Debt Adjustment (1934 - 1935), Australian Member of the War Reparation Council, and represented Australia at World Bank meetings in the 1950s and 1960s. Philanthropy was a sphere in which Potter was particularly active. In 1964 he established the Ian Potter Foundation which distributes millions of dollars in grants each year. Beneficiaries have included the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, The Australian Academy of Science, CSIRO, the Zoological Board of Victoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Birdlife Australia (formerly The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union) and a number of medical institutions. He was instrumental on persuading the Australian Government to allow tax deductibility for charitable donations. In retirement he devoted his time to arts and cultural organisations.

Details

Chronology

1928

Education - BEc, University of Sydney

1929 - 1933

Career position - Economist with stockbroker Edward Dyason

1933

Career position - Private Secretary to Richard Casey, Assistant Minister, Australian Department of Treasury

1933 - 1935

Career position - Economist, Australian Department of Treasury

1934 - 1935

Career position - Delegate, Conference on Rural Debt Adjustment

1935 - 1967

Career position - Founder and Principal Partner, Ian Potter & Co.

1940 - 1943

Career position - Served with the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve

1947 - 1953

Career position - Inaugural Treasurer, National Gallery Society of Victoria

1951 - 1971

Career position - Member of Council, University of Melbourne

1962

Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - for public service

1963 - 1971

Career position - Director, Howard Florey Laboratories

1964

Career event - Founded the Ian Potter Foundation

1971 - 1994

Career position - Director, Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine

1973

Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

1978 - 1994

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1983

Award - Knight First Class, Royal Order of the Polar Star, Sweden

1991 - 1994

Award - Honorary Fellow, Australian Stock Exchange

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Vale, Peter; Montagnana-Wallace, Neil; Davies, Matt; and Weir, Avalee, The Ian Potter Foundation, 50 years: looking back, reaching forward ( [Preston, Vic.]: Bounce Books, 2014), 81 pp. Details
• Yule, Peter, Ian Potter: a biography (Carlton, Vic.: Miegunyah Press, 2006), 429 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Glezer, Leon, 'Sir Ian Potter and his generation' in Australian financiers, biographical essays, Appleyard, R. T. and Schedvin, C. B., eds (South Melbourne: Macmillan, 1988), pp. 401-26. Details
• Yule, Peter, 'Potter, Sir William Ian (1902-1994), financier, philanthropist, and patron of the arts' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 19 1991-1995 (A-Z), Melanie Nolan, ed. (ANU Press, 2021), pp. 683-685, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/potter-sir-william-ian-19778. Details

Journal Articles

• Denton, D. A.; Ryan, M. H., 'William Ian Potter 1902-1994', Historical Records of Australian Science, 11 (4) (1997), 541-550. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9971140541. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5982614. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/2060155648121618330003. Details
• 'Potter, William Ian (19020825-19941022)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476044. Details
• 'Awarded honorary LLD, 1973', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details