Philanthropist George Peabody was a banker and patron of education initiatives whose generosity made him known as the “father of modern philanthropy.”
Today, on the anniversary of his reception of the Congressional Gold Medal in 1867 for charitable work, Google honors Peabody with a special Doodle.
Here’ what you should know about the famous philanthropist:
Engraving From 1873 Featuring The American Businessman And Philanthropist, George Peabody. Peabody Lived From 1795 Until 1869. traveler1116—Getty Images
5 Things to Know About George Peabody
Despite being born into a poor family in Massachusetts in 1795 and having little education, Peabody went on to accumulate an extravagant fortune as a trade financier in London. Thrifty in his habits but magnanimous with his donations, Peabody endowed dozens of educational institutions and libraries in the U.S. The Peabody Trust is still one of the largest housing organizations in the U.K. Peabody, who never married, is remembered today by numerous schools and institutes. Peabody’s hometown changed its name from South Danvers to Peabody a year before his death in 1869.
Today’s Google Doodle was created by a volunteer team mural project at George Peabody Elementary School in San Francisco. Watch it come together in the video below:
The Google Doodle on Thursday honored George Peabody, specifically the 151st anniversary of him being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
So who was he?
For a start, he built a bank—Peabody, Morgan & Co.—that was the ancestor of today’s JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. An American living in London for much of his life, he was also a prominent lobbyist for the reestablishment of credit lines to U.S. states, notorious in the mid-19th century for defaulting on their debts. Before moving into financial services, Peabody made his money in trading, and he got very rich off the advent of the railroads.
Peabody is considered the first modern-day philanthropist. Print Collector/Getty Images Print Collector Getty Images
But Peabody is most remembered as the father of modern philanthropy, being responsible for more than $8 million in donations (at the time, an astonishing amount of money).
In the U.K., the Peabody Trust is still one of the British capital’s largest affordable-housing associations. Peabody founded it in 1862 (as the Peabody Donation Fund), aiming to “ameliorate the condition of the poor and needy of this great metropolis, and to promote their comfort and happiness.”
In the U.S., Peabody’s philanthropy was generally aimed at education. The Peabody Education Fund was intended to educate “the destitute children of the Southern States.” The Peabody Institute in Baltimore (today known as the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University,) is the oldest conservatory in the U.S. He also set up the Peabody Academy of Science in Salem, Massachusetts (today called the Peabody Essex Museum.)
Thursday’s Google Doodle was actually created by students at George Peabody Elementary School in San Francisco, California.
Apart from being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal—one of America’s highest civilian awards—Peabody was also made a Freeman of the City of London. Queen Victoria tried to make him a knight or baronet, but he refused—although she did manage to honor him in death, allowing a temporary burial in Westminster Abbey before his remains sailed stateside, according to his wishes.
George Peabody’s incredible 19th-century wealth and business empire gave rise to the likes of JP Morgan and other massive banking institutions. Yet even his outsized influence on the modern financial world was eclipsed by his reputation as one of history’s pioneering philanthropists. He is said to have gifted $9 million of his over $16 million fortune throughout his lifetime.
The man who modeled the practice of giving by moguls was scarred by an impoverished childhood, and was perhaps as notorious for his thriftiness as he was famed for his wealth.
George Foster Peabody (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)
Google is honoring Peabody today (March 16) on the 151st anniversary of his Congressional Gold Medal award. Born a poor orphan in Massachusetts in 1795, Peabody became the country’s leading banker, starting with a trading business that dealt in everything from silk to dry goods. He was active in the US and in Europe, with a strong base of operations in London, where he died in 1869.
He did not spare expense when it came to his business practices, helping establish his still-young nation’s international credit. But his early experience with poverty drove him to extreme tightfistedness when it came to spending for himself. He is rumored to have allowed only one personal indulgence: One pence and a halfpenny he’d use to buy an apple after his midday meal, which he almost always brought to his office in a lunchbox.
In his book The House of Morgan, Ron Chernow described him as “a solitary miser” who lived in furnished rooms in a London hotel and worked nonstop, “aside from taking occasional fishing trips.”
One story—as cited by Chow Chung-Yaw in the South China Morning Post—is often recalled to explain Peabody’s legendary thriftiness: His refusal to use a personal carriage, instead traveling cheaply by public horse cart:
Once, when he was sick, Peabody was convinced by his partner to leave early. The man later found him standing in the rain at the station. After inquiring as to why he was still around, Peabody said “there’s only been a two-penny bus that has come along as yet. I’m waiting for the penny one.”
After he retired as one of the world’s wealthiest men, Peabody’s philanthropy was equally extraordinary. His name graces the dozens of schools and museums he endowed, as well as the education funds and housing for the poor on both sides of the Atlantic. When Queen Victoria tried to give him the title of baron, he declined.
While today’s great philanthropists have some stingy quirks, such as Warren Buffet’s $3 McDonald’s breakfast, Bill Gates’s $10 watch, and Mark Zuckerberg’s backyard wedding, none have seemed to match the deprivations embraced by Peabody, who once said he preferred “practical philanthropy as an investment for the sake of happiness.”
Google
George Peabody never forgot the poverty he was born into, leading the wealthy American-British financier to be widely regarded as the "father of modern philanthropy."
One of seven born into a poor Massachusetts family, Peabody entered banking after a career in the dry goods business. He soon became the most noted American banker in London -- then the world's financial capital -- and helped establish international credit for the US. The business empire he created included a firm that would eventually be known as J.P. Morgan and Co.
But it's for his financial support of educational initiatives that he's best remembered, establishing a practice later followed by Andrew Carnegie, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Oracle co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison. To honor his philanthropic achievements, Google dedicated its doodle to Peabody on the 151st anniversary of being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his generosity.
Through gifts and legacies, it's believed he distributed approximately $9 million of his $16 million fortune during his lifetime to worthy causes in the US and UK.
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