William Marsh Rice

William Marsh Rice

Infobox Person
name = William Marsh Rice


image_size = 200px
caption = Engraving of William Marsh Rice
birth_date = birth date|1816|3|14
birth_place = Springfield, MA
death_date = death date and age|1900|9|23|1816|3|14
death_place = New York, New York
occupation = Businessman
spouse = (1st) Margaret Bremond
(2nd) Julia Elizabeth Baldwin Brown
children = None
nationality = American

William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequethed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Biography

Rice was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He made his fortune in Texas by trading cotton, and investing in land and railroads.

Death

Rice was the victim of one of the earliest sensational crimes of the 1900s. On September 23 1900, Rice was found dead by his valet, Charles F. Jones. He was presumed to have died in his sleep. Shortly thereafter, a bank teller noticed a suspiciously large check bearing the late Rice's signature and made out to Rice's New York City lawyer, Albert T. Patrick, but with his name misspelled. Soon, Patrick made an announcement that Rice had changed his will right before his death, leaving the bulk of his fortune to Patrick rather than to his Institute. A subsequent investigation led by the District Attorney of New York resulted in the arrests of Patrick and of Rice's butler and valet Charles F. Jones, who had been persuaded to administer chloroform to Rice while he slept."Murdered Man's Estate Founds Great University". - "New York Times". - February 25, 1912. - Retrieved: 2008-07-11]

Legacy

Rice left the bulk of his estate to the founding of a free institute of higher education in Houston, Texas. Opening 1912 as "William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Art, and Science", it is known today as Rice University.

References

External links

* [http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/digital-archive-information/online-exhilbits/william-marsh-rice-founder-of-rice-university-exhibit/ Pictures and an elaborated biography from Rice University]
* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fri3.html Rice, William Marsh] in The Handbook of Texas History Online, Texas State Historical Association
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/houpub/00146/hpub-00146.html William Marsh Rice Collection] , Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
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