Amos Lawrence

In 1799, Lawrence became a clerk at a country store in Dunstable, Massachusetts . In 1804 he moved to Boston and founded a dry-goods mercantile, which became extraordinarily successful. In 1830, Lawrence established a cotton factory in Lowell, Massachusetts , and soon afterward became very ill. He devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy.

From 1831 until his death he gave over $639,000 to charitable causes, (in 1840s dollars.) To Williams College , he gave nearly $40,000; to Groton Academy, which later changed its name to Lawrence Academy to honor both Amos and his brother, William Lawrence , he gave over $20,000; to Wabash College , Kenyon College , and the theological seminary at Bangor, Maine , he also gave sizable sums.

His private donations were innumerable--so great that several rooms in his house were used as offices to coordinate them. Among other things, Amos Lawrence donated libraries to academic institutions, established a children's hospital in Boston, and gave $10,000 for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument . (Lawrence's father had fought at the Battle Of Bunker Hill .)

At his death, his fortune was estimated at $8,100,000, making him one of the richest men in the United States.

Amos Lawrence's brother, Abbott Lawrence , founded Lawrence, Massachusetts . His son, Amos Adams Lawrence founded the University Of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas , and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin . His grandson, William Lawrence , was the long-time Episcopalian bishop of Massachusetts.

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Amos Lawrence