Peter Bent Brigham (1807–1877) was an American millionaire businessman, restaurateur, real estate trader, and director of the
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main li ...
. He is best known as a philanthropist for his initial endowment of
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...
and the
Brigham Academy
Brigham Academy is a historic school in Bakersfield, Vermont, United States. It was established in 1878 by the town after receiving a gift from philanthropist and native son Peter Bent Brigham, and served as a major regional secondary school until ...
in
Bakersfield, Vermont
Bakersfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,273 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Bakersfield is located in southeastern Franklin County, bordered by Lamoille County to the southeast. Vermont Route 108 pass ...
.
Early life and family
Peter Bent Brigham was born 4 February 1807 in
Bakersfield, Vermont
Bakersfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,273 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Bakersfield is located in southeastern Franklin County, bordered by Lamoille County to the southeast. Vermont Route 108 pass ...
as the seventh of nine children born to Uriah Brigham (1757–1820) and Elizabeth (Fay) Brigham (1767–1837). Brigham was a direct descendant of Thomas Brigham (1603–1653), an early immigrant to
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
,
[Brigham, W.I.T., E.E. Brigham, and W.E. Brigham (1907). ''The history of the Brigham family; a record of several thousand descendants of Thomas Brigham the emigrant, 1603-1653''. The Grafton Press, New York. 810pp]
pdf
/ref> as well as John Bent (1596-1672) a founder of Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a rich colonial history.
History
Incorporated in 1639, the bou ...
. Brigham had little formal schooling and went to find work in Boston in his early teens, when his father died. He began his career working on Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 and ...
boats, selling fish and oysters in Boston. He never married.
Career in Boston
Brigham owned a restaurant on the corner of Hanover and Court Streets in Boston, Massachusetts, which he operated until it was sold in 1869 due to a street widening project. He was an astute and financially successful real estate investor. He chose not to run for any public office in Boston. Brigham was one of the founding directors of the Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main li ...
and continued his work with the railroad until his death.
Peter Bent Brigham died at his home at the northeast corner of Bulfinch and Allston Streets on Beacon Hill in Boston on 24 May 1877. He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.
Legacy and endowments
Brigham never married, and had no children. He regretted his lack of formal education, which motivated his bequests to improve the educational opportunities in his hometown of Bakersfield, resulting in the founding of Brigham Academy
Brigham Academy is a historic school in Bakersfield, Vermont, United States. It was established in 1878 by the town after receiving a gift from philanthropist and native son Peter Bent Brigham, and served as a major regional secondary school until ...
. The terms of his will also specified that $1,300,000 was to be spent 25 years after his death, for a hospital "for the care of sick persons in indigent circumstances". The money appreciated to $2,000,000 by 1902. It was used to establish the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...
, which opened in 1913, and became a world-renowned medical research hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
.
Brigham's nephew, Robert Breck Brigham (1826-1900), was also a restaurateur and successful businessman. He followed his uncle's example by endowing the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital to serve patients with arthritis and other debilitating joint diseases, which opened in 1914.
The two Brigham hospitals merged with Boston Hospital for Women
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...
in 1981, and are now known as the Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...
.
External links
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham Academy
Peter Bent Brigham at Find A Grave
Robert Breck Brigham at Find A Grave
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. Brigham Bulletin
Boston
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigham, Peter Bent
Philanthropists from Massachusetts
1877 deaths
1807 births
Businesspeople from Boston
People from Bakersfield, Vermont
Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
19th-century American philanthropists
People from Beacon Hill, Boston
19th-century American businesspeople