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George Peabody ( ;〔This is the standard pronunciation in the United States, and presumably how Peabody himself pronounced his name. In Britain, however, the name of George Peabody himself, and of the Peabody Trust, is invariably pronounced as spelt, Pea-body .〕 February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Peabody Trust in Britain and the Peabody Institute and George Peabody Library in Baltimore, and was responsible for many other charitable initiatives. ==Biography== Peabody was born in 1795 what was then South Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts. His family had Puritan ancestors in the state, but was poor. As one of 7 children, George suffered some deprivations during his childhood. These factors influenced his later devotion to both thrift, and philanthropy. His birthplace at 205 Washington Street in the City of Peabody is now operated and preserved as the George Peabody House Museum, a museum dedicated to interpreting his life and legacy. In 1816, he moved to Baltimore, where he made his career and would live for the next 20 years. He established his residence and office in the old Henry Fite House, which had briefly served as the meeting site for the Second Continental Congress in 1776–77, and later as a noted tavern and hotel. He became a businessman and financier. In Baltimore he founded the Peabody Institute, devoted to music and arts education and performance. At that time London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, were at the literal center of international banking and finance. As all international transactions in that day were settled in gold or gold certificates, a developing nation like the United States had to rely upon agents (e.g., Peabody) and Merchant Banks, like Peabody's; to raise capital through correspondent relationships with the Merchant Banking houses in Europe. Only they, then held the quantity of reserves of capital necessary to extend long-term credit, to a developing economy like that of the US. Peabody first visited the United Kingdom in 1827, seeking to use his firm and his agency, to sell American States' (Maryland, New Jersey, etc.,) Bond Issues, in order for the States' to raise capital for their various programs of "internal improvements", principally the transportation infrastructure improvements, such as roads, railroads, docks and canals. Over the next decade Peabody made four more trans-Atlantic trips, establishing a branch office in Liverpool. Later he established the banking firm of "George Peabody & Company" in London. In 1837, he took up permanent residence in London, remaining there for the rest of his life. In February 1867, on one of several return visits to the United States, and at the height of his financial success, Peabody was suggested by Francis Preston Blair, an old crony of President Andrew Jackson and an active power in the smoldering Democratic Party as a possible Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Andrew Johnson. At about the same time, Peabody was also mentioned in newspapers as a future presidential candidate. Peabody described the presidential suggestion as a "kind and complimentary reference", but considered that at age 72, he was too old for either office.〔Parker 1995, pp. 164–5, 203, 214.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Peabody」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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