37. Rockefeller’s philanthropy continues to benefit the nation
For decades Rockefeller donated money in private to a number of institutions and churches, as well as to the freed slaves during the Civil War, when he gave money to build them schools. Spelman College in Atlanta was largely founded with his money, and named for the maiden name of his wife, Laura Spelman Rockefeller. His endowment to a small Baptist college led by a minister he admired, William R. Harper, led to the school becoming the University of Chicago, to which Rockefeller donated over $80 million. Not content with supporting one school, he provided substantial sums to Yale University, their main rival Harvard University, and others of the established Eastern schools including Columbia University, Vasser, and what became Rockefeller University in New York in 1965, decades after his death.
