Elihu Yale | |
|---|---|
_-_1789.1_-_Yale_University_Art_Gallery.jpg) | |
| President of Fort St. George | |
| In office 25 July 1687 – 3 October 1692 | |
| Preceded by | William Gyfford |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Higginson |
| In office 8 August 1684 – 26 January 1685 | |
| Preceded by | William Gyfford (Agent) |
| Succeeded by | William Gyfford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 April 1649 Boston, Colony of Massachusetts, British America |
| Died | 8 July 1721 (aged 72) London, England |
| Signature |  |
Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent 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.[1]
In 1699, he returned to Britain with a considerable fortune, around £200,000 (equivalent to £35.3 million in 2023),[2] mostly made by selling diamonds, and spent his time and wealth in philanthropy and art collecting.[3][4]
He was the primary benefactor of Yale College, now Yale University, which was named in his honor, following a donation of books, portraits, and textiles at the request of Rev. Cotton Mather, a Harvard University graduate. He had no male heir, and no descendants of his have survived past his grandchildren.[5]
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.[6] In 2020, Peter Salovey, president of Yale University, launched the Yale and Slavery Research Project to explore the university's historical links with slavery and colonialism, including Elihu Yale's role.[7]
- ^ "Elihu Yale, English merchant and philanthropist". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Romita, Ray (2012). "Going Global, Staying Local: Elihu Yale the Art Collector". Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: 34–51. JSTOR 23344756.
- ^ "Elihu Yale: Today's diverse university would please namesake, biographer says, Today's diverse Yale would please namesake, biographer says". New Haven Register. 19 July 2014.
- ^ Bingham, Hiram (1937). "Elihu Yale : governor, collector and benefactor". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society: 144.
- ^ "Elihu Yale Was a Slave Trader". Digital Histories at Yale. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Salovey, Peter (2024). Foreword. Yale and Slavery: a history (PDF). By Blight, David W. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27384-7.