Ruth Lilly

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Ruth Lilly
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birth_date = birth date and age|1915|8|2
birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
death_date =
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occupation = Philanthropist
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Ruth Lilly (b. August 2, 1915, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American philanthropist. She is the sole living heiress to the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical fortune, built by her great-great grandfather, Colonel Eli Lilly (1839–1898).

Lilly made headlines in November 2002 when she pledged stock worth $100 million to the Poetry Foundation, a tiny Chicago nonprofit organization that publishes "Poetry Magazine", and a similarly large gift to Americans for the Arts in Washington. The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize of $100,000 has been awarded annually since 1986 by the Poetry Foundation to honor a living U.S. poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition.

Giving directly instead of through a foundation, Lilly also supports health care, health education, youth programs, and historic preservation. Indianapolis' Ruth Lilly Hospice, Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Ruth Lilly Health Education Center, Ruth Lilly Law Library, and Ruth Lilly YMCA Outdoor Center all bear her name.

References

* [http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/dc010&CISOPTR=31 Listing from Indiana Historical Society]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/816/000031723/ NNDB Listing]
* [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_07/b3870117_mz021.htm Business Week Article]