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George Foster Peabody | |
|---|---|
 Peabody,c. 1907 | |
| Born | (1852-07-27)July 27, 1852 Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 1938(1938-03-04) (aged 85) Warm Springs, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupations | Banker, philanthropist |
| Known for | Namesake of thePeabody Awards |
| Title |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 (adopted) |
George Foster Peabody (/ˈpiːbɒdi/; July 27, 1852 – March 4, 1938) was an American banker and philanthropist.
He was born to George Henry Peabody and Elvira Peabody (née Canfield) as the first of four children.[1] Both parents were New Englanders of colonial ancestry. George Henry Peabody, who came from a line of merchants, bankers and professional men, had moved from Connecticut toColumbus, Georgia, where he ran a prosperous general store. After attending private school in Columbus, young Peabody spent a few months at Deer Hill Institute inDanbury, Connecticut. TheCivil War, however, impoverished his family, and in 1866 they moved toBrooklyn, New York, and young Peabody went to work as an errand boy.[2]
In the evenings Peabody read extensively at the library of the BrooklynYMCA, which he later called his "alma mater". He also took part in the activities of the Reformed Church in Brooklyn Heights, where he met and became good friends with young investment bankerSpencer Trask. On May 2, 1881, Peabody became a partner in the new firm of Spencer Trask & Company. During the 1880s and 1890s this investment house took a leading part in financing electric lighting corporations, beet sugar and other industrial enterprises, and railroad construction in the western United States and Mexico. Peabody himself handled most of the firm's railroad investments, working in close association withWilliam J. Palmer. He also became a director in numerous corporations. Peabody, his brother Charles Jones Peabody and Spencer Trask amassed a great portion of their wealth from the Edison Electric Company. Trask served as president of Edison Electric Illuminating, and whenJ. P. Morgan—protégé of New England businessman/philanthropistGeorge Peabody—financier of Edison Electric, merged all into theGeneral Electric Company in 1892, George Foster Peabody became a member of the GE board of directors. Peabody had investments in Mexico, particularly in railways, along with many other U.S. financiers in the late nineteenth century. He was director of theMexican National Railroad; and had holdings in Yucatán, where he was involved in commercialhenequen exports, a natural twine used for binding wheat; was a director of theIntercontinental Rubber Company, founded byBernard Baruch; and provided capital for mining enterprises.[3]
Peabody retired from business in 1906 to pursue a life of public service. Long interested in social causes, he supported such progressive ideas as the single tax as advocated byHenry George in his bookProgress and Poverty, free trade, women's suffrage and government ownership of railroads. He was active in the anti-war movement and also interested in education, particularly in the South and particularly for African-Americans. He was a co-founder, director and treasurer of theGeneral Education Board, theSouthern Education Board, and theAnna T. Jeanes Foundation. He also served on the board of trustees for the American Church Institute for Negroes,Hampton University inVirginia,Tuskegee University inAlabama, theUniversity of Georgia, and theBrooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He was secretary of the Southern Education Board.[4]
From early in his life Peabody was interested in Democratic Party politics. In the early 1880s, he helped his close friendEdward M. Shepard organize the Young Men's Democratic Club of Brooklyn, took a part in the 1892 presidential campaign on behalf ofGrover Cleveland, supported theGold Democrats againstWilliam Jennings Bryan in 1896, then switched to more moderate monetary reform as a member of the executive committee of theIndianapolis Monetary Convention in 1897. In 1904–1906, he served as treasurer of theDemocratic National Committee.[5][6] Although he declined to run for political office, and declined President Wilson's offer of a place on theFederal Trade Commission, Peabody was an unofficial counselor to many government officials. From 1914 to 1921 he served on the board of directors of theFederal Reserve Bank in New York. In June 1932,Franklin Delano Roosevelt, thenGovernor of New York, visited Peabody for advice and support in deciding to run forPresident of the United States.
Peabody served from 1884 to 1930 as a trustee ofHampton University, one of Virginia's historically black universities, where he established in the university library the Peabody Collection of rare materials on African-American history, one of the largest collections in the United States.[7]
In 1901, Peabody donated land for Peabody Park at theUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro.[8]
He fundedYMCA of Metropolitan Columbus, in Georgia, built in 1903, believed to be the only marble "Y" building in the United States.[9]
After years of visiting the estate of his partner Spencer Trask inSaratoga Springs, New York Peabody agreed to succeed him in 1910 as chairman of the state commission set up to purchase and conserve the famous spa there, and in 1923 he acquired the property atWarm Springs, Georgia near his boyhood home. In 1924 he invited his friendFranklin Delano Roosevelt (who had recently contracted aparalytic illness) to visit the 90 degree Fahrenheit springs there, which Roosevelt eventually purchased and turned into theLittle White House and theRoosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, expanding it from a limited rehab center into a full-service center.
While his formal education was limited and he had no college degree, Peabody received honorary degrees fromHarvard andWashington and Lee Universities in 1903, and theUniversity of Georgia in 1906. This latter institution was the recipient of much of Peabody's philanthropy, including funds to build a fireproof building to house the university's library. He also donated land to help reorganize the State College of Agriculture, and founded the university's School of Forestry.
A tall man, in later years he developed a mane of white hair, and wore a heavy mustache and pointed beard, becoming known for his dignified and courtly manner. He maintained a mansion in Brooklyn, where he entertained lavishly. He also purchased a summer home known as Abenia atLake George, where he spent most of each year. He was frequently a guest atYaddo, the Saratoga Springs estate of Spencer Trask and his wife,Katrina Trask, and from both estates he developed a wide circle of influence, including many persons from the literary world, church, business, and government, who came to enjoy his gracious hospitality.
A longtime bachelor, in 1921, eleven years after Trask's death in a railroad accident, Peabody married Trask's widowKatrina, and they lived at Yaddo until her death in 1922. Thereafter, Yaddo became a great retreat for artists. Peabody continued to live on the estate, and in 1926, he adopted a daughter, Mrs. Marjorie P. Waite, a young woman whom he had come to know in connection with his civic and humanitarian activities and who aided him in them.
Peabody died in 1938 at his home inWarm Springs, Georgia.
TheGeorge Foster Peabody Awards was established by the National Association of Broadcasters. It has been presented annually since 1941 for excellence in radio and, since 1948, television broadcasting, followed byWorld Wide Web content in the late 1990s. The award is administered by theUniversity of Georgia'sHenry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and was named for Peabody, a benefactor of the university.[10]
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