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College and University Founders and Benefactors

Entrance to Scots College, Sorbonne, Paris
Plaque in the chapel, commemorating the history of Scots College

Beathag (1151 – ) founder of Trinity Temple, Medieval monastary and college 1200 daughter of Somerled MacGillebride (1113 – 1164) King of the Sudreys, Lord of Argyll 

Frederick II de Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor (1194 – 1250) founder of University of Naples Frederick II 1224

John I de Balliol, Baron Balliol (1208 – 1268) founder of Balliol College, Oxford 1263

Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester (1205 – 1277) founder of Merton College, Oxford 1264

Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland (1274 – 1329) founder of Scots College, Sorbonne 1325 – defunct 1793 

Henry VI Plantagent (1421 – 1471) founder of Eton College 1440

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (1443 – 1509) founder of Christ’s College, Cambridge University 1505

Henry VIII Tudor (1491 – 1547) founder of Trinity College, Cambridge University 1546

Elizabeth I Tudor, Queen of England & Ireland (1533 – 1603 founder of Trinity College, Dublin 1592

Reverend James Pierpont (1659 – 1712) co-founder of Yale University 1701

Reverend Samuel Russell (1660 – 1731) co-founder of Yale University 1701

Elihu Yale (1648 – 1721) President of British East India Company (Madras), 1st Benefactor of Yale University 1701

John Warren, M.D. (1753 – 1818) founder of Harvard Medical School 1782

U.S. President George Washington (1732 – 1799) founder of George Washington University 1821

Stephen III van Rensselaer (1764 – 1839) founder of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1824

Union Army Major General Oliver Otis Howard (1830 – 1909) Medal of Honor recipient, Founder of Howard University 1867

Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794 – 1877) founder of Vanderbilt University 1873

Brigham Young (1801 – 1877) 2nd President of the Church of Latter Day Saints, founder of Brigham Young University 1875

John Davison Rockefeller (1839 – 1937) founder of the University of Chicago 1890

Amasa Leland Stanford (1824 – 1893) founder of Leland Stanford Junior University 1885

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) co-founder of London School 0f Econmics 1895

Andrew Carnegie (1835- 1919) founder of Carnegie Mellon University 1900

U.S. President Herbert Hoover (1874 – 1964) founder of Hoover Institute 1919

The Patricians, A Genealogical Study – Ebook Editions US$5.95

Author at Harrod’s Deli – London

Steven Wood Collins (1952 – ) Antiquarian, Genealogist, Novelist 

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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