Edward Harkness
Edward Stephen Harkness (January 22, 1874 – January 29, 1940) was an American philanthropist. Given privately and through his family's Commonwealth Fund, Harkness' gifts to private hospitals, art museums, and educational institutions in the Northeastern United States were among the largest of the early twentieth century. He was a major benefactor to Columbia University, Yale University, Harvard University, Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Paul's School, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1934.
Edward Harkness | |
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Harkness circa 1912 | |
| Born | Edward Stephen Harkness January 22, 1874 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1940 (aged 66) |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery |
| Education | St. Paul's School Yale College Columbia Law School |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Stillman |
| Parent(s) | Stephen V. Harkness Anna M. Richardson (Harkness) |
| Relatives | Charles W. Harkness, brother Florence, sister Lamon V. Harkness half brother |
Harkness inherited his fortune from his father, Stephen V. Harkness, whose wealth was established by an early investment in Standard Oil, and his brother, Charles W. Harkness. In 1918, he was ranked the 6th-richest person in the United States by Forbes magazine's first "Rich List", behind John D. Rockefeller, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, George Fisher Baker, and William Rockefeller.