George Peabody

George Peabody was briefly engaged in 1838 but the marriage never took place. It was later rumored that he had a mistress in England with whom he had a daughter.

He died in London on November 4, 1869, aged 74. In accordance with his will, his remains were transported to the place of his birth and he was laid to rest in Harmony Grove Cemetery, in Salem, Massachusetts.

George Peabody was born on February 18, 1795, in Massachusetts, U.S. to Thomas Peabody and Judith Dodge as one of their eight children. His family had Puritan ancestors but was poor.

His parents were unable to provide the children with good education owing to the family’s dire financial situation. Thus George went to school for just four years before dropping out.

At the age of 11 he was apprenticed to the owner of a general store. A great tragedy befell the family when his father died in 1811. Now George and his brothers were faced with the challenge of earning enough money to take care of not just themselves, but also their mother and sisters. It was a very difficult period for the young boy, yet he toiled on with single-minded determination.

Peabody moved to Washington, D.C., and opened a dry goods store. He served in the army when the War of 1812 broke out. There he met an older merchant named Elisha Riggs Sr. who was greatly impressed by the young Peabody’s determination and entrepreneurial spirit.

Riggs asked Peabody to become his business partner, and in 1814 the two men established the wholesale dry goods firm of Riggs, Peabody & Co., specializing in importing dry goods from Britain. The business proved to be very successful and within years Peabody was able to pay off his father’s debts and was in a position to provide a more comfortable life for his family.

The business continued to grow and prosper, and by 1822, the company had established branches in New York and Philadelphia. The senior partner Riggs retired in 1829 and the firm was renamed Peabody, Riggs & Co., with the names reversed as Peabody became the senior partner.

During the late 1820s he regularly travelled to London to negotiate the sale of American cotton in Lancashire and established many influential connections in England.

In 1835, he established the banking firm of George Peabody & Co. in London which offered securities in American enterprises—railroads, canals—to British and European investors.

George Peabody was a highly successful businessman and merchant banker, but he is best remembered as the founder of the Peabody Trust which is one of London's oldest and largest housing associations with around 27,000 properties. The primary objective of the trust was to provide housing of a decent quality to London’s poor and needy citizens.