The Peabody Education Fund was established by

George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry g ...

in 1867, after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States" except schools for newly freed African Americans. The main purpose of the fund was to aid elementary education by strengthening existing schools. Because it was restricted from founding new schools, it largely did not benefit

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

in the South; only 6.5% of its disbursements went to schools for Black students in its early years. The gift of foundation consisted of securities to the value of $2,100,000, of which $1,100,000 were in

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

bonds, afterward repudiated. The original trustees of 1867 were William M. Ewarts; George A. Riggs; William A. Graham; Charles MacAlister; John H. Clifford; David G. Farragut; George N. Eaton; George Peabody; Hamilton Fish; Ulysses S. Grant; William Aiken; Robert C. Winthrop; George P. Russell; Charles P. McIlvaine; William C. Rives; Samuel Wetmore. In 1869 an additional $1,000,000 was given by Mr. Peabody, with $384,000 of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

funds, also repudiated later. "The fund introduced a new type of benefaction in that it was left without restriction in the hands of the trustees to administer. Power to close the trust after thirty years was provided on condition that two-thirds of the fund be distributed to educational institutions in the Southern states." The rules of the Peabody Education Fund were strict, allowing for the distribution of about $80,000 per year over a period of thirty years. By the time of the termination of the fund in 1898, about $2,500,000 had been distributed. In 1875, the trustees of the Peabody Education Fund founded the Peabody

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

of the South which promptly became the Peabody Normal College (1875-1911). It was maintained in connection with the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

and supported by annual donations from the Peabody Education Fund. In 1910 the

Peabody College for Teachers Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private university, private research university in N ...

was organized. Placed adjacent to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, the college opened its doors on June 14, 1914 for summer school. In September 1915, four new buildings had been completed at a cost of $750,000. The Peabody Education Fund was dissolved in 1914. The

Southern Education Foundation The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) is a not-for-profit foundation created in 1937 from four different funds — the Peabody Education Fund, the John F. Slater Fund, the Negro Rural School Fund, and the Virginia Randolph Fund. Their main ...

, a not-for-profit foundation, was created in 1937 from the Peabody Education Fund and three funds intended to support education for blacks: the John F. Slater Fund, the Negro Rural School Fund, and the

Virginia Randolph Fund Virginia Estelle Randolph (May 1870 – March 16, 1958) was an American educator in Henrico County, Virginia. She was named the United States' first "Jeanes Supervising Industrial Teacher" by her Superintendent of Schools, Jackson Davis, and sh ...

Literature

* L. P. Ayres, ''Seven Great Foundations'' (New York, 1911) *Orr, D. (1950). ''A History of Education in Georgia''. Chapel Hill:

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. It is a member of the As ...

Notes

{{reflist Education finance in the United States Educational foundations in the United States Organizations established in 1867 Southern United States