Salt Lake Tribune | 1912-04-28 | Page 15 | Gives Away Wealth before Life Ends

GIVES AMY WEALTH BEFOIEJJFE ENDS Dr. Daniel Kimball Pearsons, Noted Philanthropist, Dies in a Sanitarium. QUITS TOBACCO AT 91 Scores of College Presidents Will Attend Funeral of Friend nf Education. CHICAGO, April 27. Dr. flaniel Kimball Pearsons, 92 years old. whot in recent years gave more than $5,000,-000 $5,000,-000 to small colleges, chiefly in the middle west, died earlv today in a sanitarium, comparatively a poor man. Pneumonia, with complications due ro old age. was the cause. For several days he had been sinking, a patient in an institution where he maintained aimself on an income of $500u a year paid him bv a college to which he had contributed $2fn,000 on tho condition con-dition thai he would be given 2 per een1 of that amount for the rest of his life It wa; Ir. Pearsons who declared that "giving awav money is a greater sport than baseball and more fun than anv other form of entertainment." Ho began giving money to needy colleges in 1888, and in sum? ranging from $10,000 to $495,000 disposed of more tllan $5,000,000 Hi last gift, he said left him comparatively poor, w'lth an income sufficient to keep him from want. His death defeated his oft-ezpressed oft-ezpressed expectation that he would live 100 years. Finally Sells Home. Recently he sold out his home to go to the sanitarium. The value of the home and an endowment, were given for a public library to Hinsdale, 111., his place of residence. At the age of 91, Dr. Pearsons gave up a lifelong use of tobacco, making, he said, the renunciation for conscientious conscien-tious reasons Dr. Pearsons was born in Bradford, Vt. He began practicing medicine in 1842 Coming to Illinois in IS." he made a fortune buying ahd selling Illinois farm lands. He was a Chicago 0lrW,-.,T, in 1Q7; His first notable gife was $100,000 to Beloit college (Wisconsin). He gave Beloit in all $600,000. Most of Dr. Pearsons 's gifts were on condition that an amount equal to hia should be provided by others. It waa his way of stimulating philanthropy in Ol hers. Notable Donations. Other donations by him were: Chicago Theological eeminarv, $280,-000; $280,-000; Mount Holyoke, $150,000; Worcester Wor-cester university, $100,000; Knox college. col-lege. $100,000; "Drurv college, Springfield. Spring-field. Mo., $100,000; Berea college i Kv ), $200,000; Colorado college, $100,000; Whitman collcgo (Washington), (Washing-ton), $120,000. Cther colleges aided by him were in Wisconsin, South Dakota. Da-kota. Nebraska, Kansas. Tennessee, Illinois, Georgia and South Carolina. Funeral services will be held next Tuesday. Tinned will be at Hln&ilale. Scot es oi college presidents whose Institutions In-stitutions received bequests from Pr. Pearsons will attend Before hla death Mr. Pearsons gave ?$ 000,000 to colleges In different parts of the country He had been 111 with pneumonia for a week and appeared to be better before the end came. lie died with a prayer on his hps.