Elihu Yale

Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales, and India. He became a clerk for the East India Company at Fort St. George (later Madras), and eventually rose to the Presidency of the settlement. He was later removed from the post under charges of corruption for self-dealing and required to pay a fine. In 1699 he returned to Britain with a considerable fortune, around £200,000, mostly made by selling diamonds, and spent his time and wealth in philanthropy and art collecting. He is best remembered as the primary benefactor of Yale College (now Yale University), which was named in his honor, following a donation of books, portrait, and textiles under the request of Rev. Cotton Mather, a Harvard graduate. He had no male heir, and no descendants of his have survived past his grandchildren.

In the 21st century Yale's connections to slavery in India began to be more closely explored, a process assisted by the digitalisation and online publication of the East India Company's records. In 2020, Yale's president, Peter Salovey, launched the Yale and Slavery Research Project to explore the university's links with slavery and colonialism, including Elihu Yale's role as Governor of Madras under the British East India Company.