Mr. Johns Hopkins
Benefactor and Namesake
Johns Hopkins
19 May 1795 - 24 December 1873
Founder of the Hospital and University that bear his name, Johns Hopkins
was born at Whitehall, his family’s tobacco plantation in Anne
Arundel County, Maryland. The second of eleven children, he was named
Johns in honor of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, and reared
by his devout Quaker parents in strict accordance with the principles
of that faith. When the Society of Friends took a strong stand on the
abolition of slavery, Johns Hopkins’ father responded by freeing
the slaves on the family’s plantation. Thereafter, the entire
family joined together to do the work of the plantation.
At the age of seventeen, Johns Hopkins moved to Baltimore, where he
entered the wholesale grocery business with his uncle. Over time he
fell deeply in love with Elizabeth Hopkins, the daughter of his uncle.
However, since the Quaker religion did not permit marriage between
first cousins, his uncle refused them permission to marry. Deeply saddened
by the breakup of his romance, Johns Hopkins left his uncle’s
employ and formed a wholesale provisions business. For the rest of
his life he immersed himself in his work, and neither he nor his cousin
ever married.
Having amassed a great fortune after a long and highly successful
career in trade and banking, Johns Hopkins felt an obligation to share
his wealth. Guided by the strong social consciousness of his Quaker
faith, he chose to use his fortune to benefit humanity. To this end
he designated nearly $8 million to support the advancement of knowledge
and relief of suffering. Incorporating a university and hospital with
an interlocking board of governance, he personally selected trustees
and directed them to follow practical measures in the development of
the two institutions and also instructed them to incorporate in their
planning his ideals for education and health care. The University was
first to open in 1876, three years after his death. In 1889 the Hospital
and Training School for Nurses commenced operations; and in 1893 the
School of Medicine was launched. Later additions to the health divisions
of the University include the School of Hygiene and Public Health in
1918 and the School of Nursing in 1983.
