Blanche Ebert Seaver (September 15, 1891–April 9, 1994) was an American philanthropist and musician.

Early life and marriage

Born Blanche Ebert on September 15, 1891, she was the tenth child of Norwegian immigrants to

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. Her musical talent was evident from a young age, and she graduated from the Chicago Music School in 1911. She would go on to write and arrange music for Irish tenor John McCormack and for the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

. In 1916, she married Frank Seaver, a lawyer who had helped draft the first charter for Los Angeles County. He went on to make a fortune manufacturing oil drilling equipment first for

Edward L. Doheny Edward Laurence Doheny (; August 10, 1856 – September 8, 1935) was an American oil tycoon who, in 1892, drilled the first successful oil well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field. His success set off a petroleum boom in Southern California, a ...

and later for his own Hydril Company.

Philanthropy

The Seavers were generous philanthropists, founding an orphanage in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

in the 1920s, and donating to the

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is located at 540 South Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, California, United States. It is a member of the United Church of Christ. Founded in 1867, the church is the city's oldest continuous Protestant ...

and the Los Angeles Music Center, in addition to other musical organizations. Blanche served on the board of several organizations, including

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue. The hospital has been academically affi ...

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

, and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Following Frank's death in 1964, Blanche became a benefactor of the young George Pepperdine College in South Central Los Angeles, which, due in large part to her donations, opened a campus in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

and was renamed

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

in 1971. In 1975, the liberal arts college at Pepperdine was named Seaver College in memory of Frank and in honor of Blanche's gifts. In all, her friendship with Pepperdine president

William S. Banowsky William Slater Banowsky (March 4, 1936 – April 28, 2019) was an American academic administrator. He served as president of Pepperdine University from 1971 to 1978, then as president of the University of Oklahoma from 1978 to 1982 when he resign ...

led to more than $160 million in donations to Pepperdine, and she served on the university's board of regents until her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seaver, Blanche Pepperdine University people 1891 births 1994 deaths Pomona College trustees 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American academics