Ezra Cornell

Ezra Cornell (January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman and, with Andrew Dickson White, is founder of Cornell University, . He was born in Westchester County, New York, the son of a potter, Elijah Cornell. He was a first cousin, four times removed of Benjamin Franklin on his maternal grandmother's side. Having travelled extensively as a carpenter in New York State, Ezra, upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake and Ithaca, decided Ithaca would be his future home.

Cornell University

Cornell retired from Western Union and turned his attention to philanthropy. He endowed the Cornell Library, a public library for the citizens of Ithaca. A lifelong enthusiast of science and agriculture, he saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act to found a university that would teach practical subjects, as opposed to the classics as favored by more traditional institutions. His fellow senator Andrew Dickson White helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land grant university, and Cornell University was granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.

Related Topics:
Philanthropy - Public library - Science - Agriculture - 1862 - Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act - University - Andrew Dickson White - Land grant university - 1865

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