Born on an Anne Arun­del County tobacco plan­ta­tion in 1795, Johns Hop­kins made a for­tune as a mer­chant sup­ply­ing set­tlers on the west­ern frontier.

Hop­kins then turned to bank­ing, and was an early investor in the B&O Rail­road — twice using his per­sonal for­tune to save the rail­road from bankruptcy.

After Hop­kins’ death on Christ­mas Eve 1873, his $8 mil­lion for­tune was left to estab­lish a uni­ver­sity and hospital.

Hop­kins’ will stip­u­lated that the hos­pi­tal was to “com­pare favor­ably with any insti­tu­tion of like char­ac­ter in this coun­try or in Europe.”

A devout Quaker, Hop­kins insisted that the hos­pi­tal treat “the poor of this city and state, of all races.” His estate also estab­lished a home in Bal­ti­more County for African-American children.

At the time, Hop­kins’ bequest was the largest in in U. S. history.

Hop­kins is buried in a fam­ily plot at Green Mount Ceme­tery, 1501 Green­mount Avenue.

GPS: N 39° 18.455′, W 076° 36.280′

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