Michael Eavis

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Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17, 1935), is an English dairy farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival on his farm.

[edit] Biography

Michael Eavis at Glastonbury 2005 at the charity launch

He was educated at Wells Cathedral School, followed by the Thames Nautical Training College after which he joined the Merchant Navy. In 1958 his father, a Methodist local preacher [1], died and he inherited Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset. In 1969 he and his second wife Jean Eavis visited the Bath Blues festival, and inspired by this, they hosted a free festival the following year. This developed into the Glastonbury Festival as it is known today.

Jean died in 1999, since then his daughter Emily has taken a more active role in running the event. With his third wife, and also with his mother, Michael remains a committed Methodist chapel-goer. His first wife, Ruth, still lives in Pilton, Somerset.

In the 1997 General Election he stood as a candidate for the Labour Party in the Wells Constituency [2], polling 10,204 votes, Labour's best performance in the seat for many years. In 2004 however, he suggested that disillusioned Labour voters should switch their vote to the Green Party to protest at the Iraq War.

In November 2006 he was appointed as the president of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce and Industry.^[1] Eavis holds honorary degrees from the University of Bath (Doctor of Arts honoris causa, 2004)^[2] and the University of Bristol (Master of Arts honoris causa, 2006)^[3]. Eavis was awarded a CBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list.^[4]