Thomas Guy was a British member of Parliament, investor and bookseller. He held shares in the South Sea Company. Due to a brief period where the company attempted to sell slaves in Spanish America, he is seen as a controversial figure.
The bronze statue was cast by Peter Scheemakers between 1731 and 1734.[2]
In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, many controversial statues became the target of attacks and scrutiny. The Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan established the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm in order to review statues and monuments in the city. The Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust announced that they would work with Khan on the issue. The Statue was boarded up on 12 June. As of 10 August 2020 the statue remains covered.[3][4]
See also[]
List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
List of public art formerly in London
List of public statues of individuals linked to the Atlantic slave trade
Columbus – Christopher Columbus (City Hall); Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College)
Oregon
Eugene – The Pioneer; The Pioneer Mother
Portland – Captain William Clark Monument; Thompson Elk Fountain; Thomas Jefferson; Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt; Harvey W. Scott; George Washington
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia – Christopher Columbus ✻; Frank Rizzo; George Whitefield
Rhode Island
Providence – Christopher Columbus ✻
South Carolina
Columbia – Christopher Columbus
Charleston – John C. Calhoun
Tennessee
Nashville – Edward W. Carmack; Sam Davis ✻
Texas
Beaumont – Our Confederate Soldiers
Dallas – Confederate War Memorial; One Riot, One Ranger
Denton – Confederate Soldier Monument ✻
Fort Worth – Confederate Monument
Houston – Christopher Columbus; Richard W. Dowling ✻; Spirit of the Confederacy
Virginia
Alexandria – Appomattox
Fredericksburg – Slave Auction Block
Norfolk – Confederate Monument
Portsmouth – Confederate Monument
Roanoke – Robert E. Lee
Richmond – Christopher Columbus; Jefferson Davis; Howitzer Monument ✻; Stonewall Jackson; Robert E. Lee ✻; Matthew Fontaine Maury; Richmond Police Memorial; J. E. B. Stuart; Williams Carter Wickham
Wisconsin
Madison – Forward; Hans Christian Heg
Other countries
Belgium
Antwerp – Leopold II
Ghent – Leopold II
New Zealand
Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton
United Kingdom
Bristol – Edward Colston
Cambridge – Sir Ronald Fisher window
Greater Manchester – Dunham Massey Hall sundial
London – John Cass; Robert Clayton ✻; Thomas Guy ✻; Robert Milligan