Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897 – July 16, 1969) was an

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collector and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Strong was an avid collector, especially of

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

s and her large collection formed the basis for the

Strong National Museum of Play The Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply the Strong) is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret ...

.Margaret Woodbury Strong @ Strong National Museum of Play
Margaret is the second and last child of John Charles Woodbury (1859 in Rochester, NY – 1937) and the former Alice Motley (the first sibling died at childbirth). Margaret travelled the world with her parents beginning around 1907 after her father retired and sold the business started by Margaret's grandfather, The Strong and Woodbury Whip Company. This is when she began her doll collection. She married Homer Strong, over twenty years her senior, in September 1920; as a wedding gift, her parents gave her a large share of stock in the

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

corporation."Wanna Play? The Strong National Museum of Play", by Jonathan Schmalzbach, in ''

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'', December 2018; p 34-38 Margaret and Homer had a daughter, who died in 1946; Homer died in 1958. Her passion was collecting dolls, doll houses, and toys. She added gallery wings and outbuildings to her estate which she eventually termed a "Museum of Fascination." The grounds contained a town of dollhouses. In 1968 she received state approval for the establishment of a museum. At her death, her doll collection numbered 22,000 and was the cornerstone of a collection containing more than 300,000 items. Her father left her nearly one million dollars when he died in 1937 and this fortune had grown in excess of $77 million by the time Margaret died in 1969. She is buried in the

Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, founded in 1838, is the first municipal cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Situated on of land adjacent to the University of ...

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. She was a major benefactor of the

Episcopal Diocese of Rochester The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over eight counties in west central New York. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Episcopal Di ...

References

External links

Strong National Museum of Play Official Website
* 1897 births 1969 deaths Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) Collectors People from Rochester, New York 20th-century philanthropists {{philanthropist-stub