On this day in 1873, businessman and philanthropist Johns Hopkins passed away. While his name is invoked more often when people discuss the hospital or university, the guy himself was pretty fascinating both as an innovative businessman and someone who advocated for racial equality.
You may think the name Johns sounds more like a last name than a first name, and that it might have been a bit odd for the time. You'd be correct: the name Johns was inherited from his grandfather, who was named after his mother's last name. Why? That's not important.
He was born in 1795 on a tobacco plantation in Anne Arundel County, Md., to a Quaker family that owned slaves. When they were emancipated, Hopkins began working on the farm alongside indentured and free Black laborers. Both those experiences led him to be against inequality between races from a young age.
At 17, he began to show his natural talent for business when he went to work for his uncle in a wholesale grocery store. By 1819, he'd founded his own grocery operation with three of his brothers. They sold out of traveling Conestoga wagons, as well as liquor in his home city of Baltimore.
He grew his fortune by investing in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and other endeavors and dedicated himself to spending it on the public good. In Baltimore he funded public buildings, housing, free libraries, schools, and foundations. His contribution to the founding of Johns Hopkins University was at that time the largest philanthropic gift ever.
During the Civil War he was an abolitionist and strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln. Marylanders' loyalties were divided, and his support for the Union made him unpopular among other elites in Maryland. But despite the ostracization, he remained committed to the Union cause, even offering his house up as a meeting place for Union leaders.
To learn more about Johns Hopkins, you can read more on the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.
