Peabody George

Peabody, George (1795-1869), philanthropist, born in Massachusetts, United States of America, after making a small fortune in the dry goods trade at Baltimore, became a banker in London (1843), and amassed immense wealth by his dealings in United States bonds during the Civil War. In addition to many other philanthropic schemes, he, in 1862, placed £150,000 in the hands of trustees for bettering the condition of the London poor; the sum was eventually increased to £500,000, and employed to erect model artisans' dwellings.