George Peabody

Description

Oil on canvas portrait painting of "George Peabody" (1795-1869), 1857, by James Reid Lamdin. Peabody was born in poverty in Massachusetts. As a young man, he went into the dry goods business and later expanded into banking and real estate. During the War of 1812, he served in an artillery company of the militia and saw no action. It was during this experience that he met Elisha Riggs (1779-1853) and the two men established dry goods stores in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia. In 1837, he permanently moved to London and established a banking firm in his own name. Peabody remained active in business until his retirement in 1864. He then pivoted his interests into charitable works and is widely considered the father of philanthropy. Peabody established numerous places in his own name, including the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Peabody Library; both in Baltimore, Maryland. He died in London at the age of 74 and is buried at Harmony Grove Cemetery, in Salem, Massachusetts.