Samuel Colgate

Samuel Colgate (1822-1897), son of William Colgate (1783-1857), was an American manufacturer and philanthropist, born in New York City. He became widely known as a soap maker, and the manufactory he built in Jersey City developed into one of the largest establishments of its kind in the world. He was also prominent in philanthropical work. For more than 30 years he was trustee of Colgate University, and for many years he was president of the New York Baptist Education Society, president of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a member of the executive committee of the American Baptist Missionary Union and of the American Tract Society. One of his most noteworthy achievements was the collection of 30,000 volumes of reports (now in the Colgate University Library), comprising the documentary records of the Baptist denomination. Conjointly with his brother, James B. Colgate, he gave large sums to Colgate (formerly Madison) University, which in 1890 was named in honor of the Colgate family.

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