Edward Downes

British conductor (1924–2009)
Person human Q998576
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Edward Downes

Summary

Edward Downes is a human[1]. His place of birth was Birmingham[2]. He was born on June 17, 1924[3]. He died in Switzerland[4]. He died on July 10, 2009[5]. He worked as a conductor[6] and oboist[7]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (100 views/month, #7,248 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Edward Downes was born in Birmingham[2].
  • Edward Downes died in Switzerland[4].
  • Edward Downes was born on June 17, 1924[3].
  • Edward Downes died on July 10, 2009[5].
  • Edward Downes held citizenship in United Kingdom[9].
  • Edward Downes held citizenship in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland[10].
  • Edward Downes worked as a conductor[6].
  • Edward Downes worked as an oboist[7].
  • Edward Downes was educated at University of Birmingham[11].
  • Edward Downes was educated at Royal College of Music[12].
  • Edward Downes's education included a stint at Manhattan School of Music[13].
  • Edward Downes received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire[14].
  • Edward Downes received the Knight Bachelor[15].
  • Edward Downes received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award (Conductor)[16].
  • Edward Downes is recorded as male[17].
  • Edward Downes's instance of is recorded as human[18].
  • The cause of death was drug overdose[19].
  • Edward Downes's family name is recorded as Downes[20].
  • Edward Downes's given name is recorded as Edward[21].
  • Edward Downes studied under Hermann Scherchen[22].
  • Edward Downes's manner of death is recorded as suicide[23].
  • Edward Downes's instrument is recorded as cor anglais[24].
  • Edward Downes's languages spoken, written or signed is recorded as English[25].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[26]

  • Country: GB[27]

  • Began / founded: 1924-06-17[28]

  • Ended / dissolved: 2009-07-10[29]

  • Community tags: conductor[30]

  • MusicBrainz ID: 7096aa5e-3287-4ec9-805c-89fd13fc824a[31]

Body

Origins and Family

Edward Downes was born in Birmingham[2]. He was born on June 17, 1924[3].

Education

Educated at University of Birmingham[11], a public research university[32], in United Kingdom[33], founded in 1900[34], headquartered in Birmingham[35]; Royal College of Music[12], a conservatory[36], in United Kingdom[37], founded in 1882[38], headquartered in London[39]; and Manhattan School of Music[13], a conservatory[40], in United States[41], founded in 1917[42]. Edward Downes studied under Hermann Scherchen[22].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include conductor[6] and oboist[7].

Recognition

Awards received include Commander of the Order of the British Empire[14], a grade of an order[43], in United Kingdom[44]; Knight Bachelor[15], a title of honor[45], in United Kingdom[46], founded in 1300[47]; and Royal Philharmonic Society Award (Conductor)[16], a class of award[48], in United Kingdom[49], founded in 1990[50].

Death and Burial

Edward Downes died on July 10, 2009[5]. He passed away in Switzerland[4]. The cause of death was drug overdose[19].

Why It Matters

Edward Downes ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (100 views/month, #7,248 of 1,000,298).[8] He has Wikipedia articles in 9 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[51] He is known by 5 alternative names across languages and contexts.[52]

FAQs

Where was Edward Downes born?

Edward Downes was born in Birmingham[2].

Where did Edward Downes die?

Edward Downes died in Switzerland[4].

What did Edward Downes do for work?

Edward Downes worked as conductor[6] and oboist[7].

Where did Edward Downes go to school?

Edward Downes was educated at University of Birmingham[11], Royal College of Music[12], and Manhattan School of Music[13].

What awards did Edward Downes receive?

Honors received include Commander of the Order of the British Empire[14], Knight Bachelor[15], and Royal Philharmonic Society Award (Conductor)[16].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [17] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [9] . wikidata.org.
  5. [10] . wikidata.org.
  6. [18] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [11] . wikidata.org.
  8. [12] . wikidata.org.
  9. [13] . wikidata.org.
  10. [6] . wikidata.org.
  11. [7] . wikidata.org.
  12. [14] . wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . Royal Philharmonic Society Website. Retrieved . royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  15. [19] . wikidata.org.
  16. [3] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [5] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . telegraph.co.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  18. [20] . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . IdRef. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [26] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [27] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [29] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [30] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  6. [31] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [49] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [50] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [51] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [52] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Edward Downes. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/edward-downes
MLA “Edward Downes.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/edward-downes.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_edward-downes_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Edward Downes}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/edward-downes}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Edward Downes — https://4ort.xyz/entity/edward-downes (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 10d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Instance of human
    Instance of
    Citizenship
    Country of citizenship United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
    + 19 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32158|batch #32158]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (39)"
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