British colonial administrator and namesake of Yale College
For the American military officer, see Elihu Yale (captain).
Elihu Yale
President of Fort St. George
In office 25 July 1687 – 3 October 1692
Preceded by
William Gyfford
Succeeded by
Nathaniel Higginson
In office 8 August 1684 – 26 January 1685
Preceded by
William Gyfford (Agent)
Succeeded by
William Gyfford
Personal details
Born
(1649-04-05)5 April 1649 Boston, Colony of Massachusetts, British America
Died
8 July 1721(1721-07-08) (aged 72) London, England
Signature
Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales, and India. He became a clerk for the East India Company at Fort St. George (later Madras), and eventually rose to the Presidency of the settlement. He was later removed from the post under charges of corruption for self-dealing and required to pay a fine.[1] In 1699 he returned to Britain with a considerable fortune, around £200,000, mostly made by selling diamonds, and spent his time and wealth in philanthropy and art collecting.[2][3][4] He is best remembered as the primary benefactor of Yale College (now Yale University), which was named in his honor, following a donation of books, portrait, and textiles under the request of Rev. Cotton Mather, a Harvard graduate. He had no male heir, and no descendants of his have survived past his grandchildren.[5]
In the 21st century Yale's connections to slavery in India began to be more closely explored, a process assisted by the digitalisation and online publication of the East India Company's records.[6] In 2020, Yale's president, Peter Salovey, launched the Yale and Slavery Research Project to explore the university's links with slavery and colonialism, including Elihu Yale's central role.[7]
^"Elihu Yale, English merchant and philanthropist". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 4 July 2022.
^Romita, Ray (2012). "Going Global, Staying Local: Elihu Yale the Art Collector". Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: 35. JSTOR 23344756 – via JSTOR.
^"Elihu Yale: Today’s diverse university would please namesake, biographer says, Today’s diverse Yale would please namesake, biographer says", New Haven Register, July 19, 2014
ElihuYale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale only lived...
Elihu Club or Elihu is the fourth oldest senior society at Yale University, New Haven, CT. It was founded in 1903 and takes its name from ElihuYale. The...
businessman ElihuYale to ask him for financial help in constructing a new building for the college. Through the persuasion of Jeremiah Dummer, Yale, who had...
endowment was established at Yale University, then Yale College, in 1718 from an initial fund of £562 provided by ElihuYale and has grown to more than...
first treasurer of Yale, donated land and a building. The college moved again to New Haven in 1718, and was renamed for ElihuYale, an early benefactor...
Elihu is a masculine given name. Bearers of the name include: Elihu Abrahams (1927–2018), American theoretical physicist Elihu Anthony (1818–1905), American...
ElihuYale with Members of his Family and an Enslaved Child (formerly titled ElihuYale seated at table with the Second Duke of Devonshire and Lord James...
COMMITTEE "Yale genealogy and history of Wales : the British kings and princes, life of Owen Glyndwr, biographies of Governor ElihuYale, for whom Yale University...
of the Yale family. The area was previously known as Lower Canada, and historically belonged to Nouvelle-France. His uncle was Capt. ElihuYale, and his...
Horace Yale (1908). "Yale genealogy and history of Wales. The British kings and princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor ElihuYale". Archive...
(1673–1700) Lord James Cavendish (c. 1678–1751), married to Anne Yale (died 1734), daughter of ElihuYale Sir Charles Cavendish (c. 1553–1617) William Cavendish...
and Lucretia Yale, and was a cousin of Canadian fur trader James Murray Yale and Gov. ElihuYale of Yale University, members of the Yale family. Merchant...
1923-1929 "Yale genealogy and history of Wales : the British kings and princes, life of Owen Glyndwr, biographies of Governor ElihuYale, for whom Yale University...
Wallingford, on November 28, 1795, at 94 years of age. They had 7 children. ElihuYale (1703-1745), became a soldier in the Louisbourg Expedition against the...
of ElihuYale by Francis Edwin Elwell and a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The Yale Club was created in 1897 by the Old Yale Alumni...
grandnephew of Capt. Theophilus Yale, a cousin of Capt. ElihuYale, and a distant cousin of Lt. Gov. William H. Yale. In 1774, Yale bought 50 acres of land from...
a governorship. Subsequently, ElihuYale who took charge on 8 August 1684 was the First President of Madras. ElihuYale, Thomas Pitt and George Macartney...
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