Editing William Friese-Greene (section)

==Death==
[[File:The Friese-Greene grave in Highgate Cemetery.jpg|thumb|upright|The Friese-Greene grave in [[Highgate Cemetery]]]]
On 5 May 1921, Friese-Greene – then a largely forgotten figure – attended a stormy meeting of the cinema trade at the [[Connaught Rooms]] in London. The meeting had been called to discuss the current poor state of British film distribution and was chaired by [[Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook]]. Disturbed by the tone of the proceedings, Friese-Greene got to his feet to speak. The chairman asked him to come forward onto the platform to be heard better, which he did, appealing for the two sides to come together. Shortly after returning to his seat, he collapsed. People went to his aid and took him outside, but he died almost immediately of heart failure.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 May 1921 |title=Inquiry into Death of Mr Friese Greene |page=6 |work=Dundee Evening Telegraph}}</ref>

Given his dramatic death in poverty (his pockets contained only one [[shilling]] and ten pence when he died), surrounded by film industry representatives who had almost entirely forgotten about his role in motion pictures, there was a spasm of collective shock and guilt. A very grand funeral was staged for him, with the streets of London lined by the curious. A two-minute silence was observed in some cinemas, and a fund was raised to commission a memorial for his grave. He was buried in the eastern section of London's [[Highgate Cemetery]], just south of the entrance and visible from the street through the railings.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1378873 |desc=Tomb of William Friese-Greene in Highgate (Eastern) Cemetery |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> However, his memorial was not designed by [[Edwin Lutyens]], as is often stated. It describes him as "The Inventor of Kinematography", a term Friese-Greene never used in talking about his achievements. Indeed, he often spoke generously about other workers in the field of capturing movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=11 December 1896 |title=Croydon Camera Club meeting |journal=British Journal of Photography |volume=43 |pages=703}}</ref>

His second wife, Edith Jane, died a few months later of cancer<ref>{{Cite news |title=Death of Mrs Friese Greene |date=23 July 1921 |work=Bath Chronicle |page=26}}</ref> and is buried with him, as are some of his children.