Amos Lawrence

Amos Lawrence, (22 April 1786, Groton, Massachusetts – 31 December 1852, Boston, Massachusetts) was an American merchant and philanthropist. He was the son of Samuel Lawrence, a Revolutionary War officer, and the founder of Groton Academy (now Lawrence Academy at Groton), where Amos was educated.

In 1799, Lawrence became a clerk at a country store in Dunstable, Massachusetts. In 1804 he moved to Boston and founded a dry-goods mercantile, which became extraordinarily successful. In 1830, Lawrence established a cotton factory in Lowell, Massachusetts, and soon afterward became very ill. He devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy.

From 1831 until his death he gave over $639,000 (in 1840s dollars) to charitable causes. To Williams College, he gave nearly $40,000; to Groton Academy, which later changed its name to Lawrence Academy to honor both Amos and his brother, William Lawrence, he gave over $20,000; to Wabash College, Kenyon College, and the theological seminary at Bangor, Maine, he also gave sizable sums.

His private donations were innumerable--so great that several rooms in his house were used as offices to coordinate them. Among other things, Amos Lawrence donated libraries to academic institutions, established a children's hospital in Boston, and gave $10,000 for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument (Lawrence's father had fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill).

At his death, his fortune was estimated at $8,100,000, making him one of the richest men in the United States.

Amos Lawrence's brother, Abbott Lawrence, founded Lawrence, Massachusetts. His son, Amos Adams Lawrence, founded the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, was responsible for the founding of Lawrence, Kansas (thus its name) through his work with the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and also helped found Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. His grandson, Bishop William Lawrence, was the longtime Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts.

References

* "Extracts from the Diary and Correspondence of the late Amos Lawrence" By William R. Lawrence, published by Gould and Lincoln, Boston, 1855.
* "Lives of American Merchants" By Freeman Hunt, published 1858, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=A7YmR230yAkC&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 volume 2] page 223 [http://books.google.com/books?id=A7YmR230yAkC&pg=PA223 Amos Lawrence article.]