Philanthropists

Bishop, Bernice Pauahi (under Hawai'ian Royal Families)

The history of the royal dynasties of Hawai'i has been as tangled as that of many others. Until the early 19th century each island was ruled by its own dynasty, but Kamehameha the Great (17... [more]

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Bute, John Crichton-Stuart

The third Marquis of Bute succeeded to the title when he was a baby - his father died in 1848, leaving him the third richest person in Europe (later, as an adult, he was described as the ri... [more]

d'Alembert, Jean le Rond

d'Alembert was a foundling , discovered near the church of St. Jean-le-Rond in Paris (hence his name), but he was in fact the son of Madame de Tencin and General Destouches-Canon. His fath... [more]

de Rossi, Giovanni Battista

De Rossi was born into a happy country family in Voltaggio, near Genoa. When he was 10 a wealthy Genoese couple, who had become enchanted by the boy on their holidays, persuaded his parents... [more]

Hancock, John

Hancock's father, a Congregationalist minister, died when he was a boy of seven, leaving his mother a destitute widow with three children, and he was adopted by his uncle, Thomas Hancock, a... [more]

Ice-T

Ice-T was born Tracy Morrow in Newark, New Jersey. While he was a teenager his parents were both killed in an auto accident, and he moved to South Central Los Angeles. He is the father o... [more]

McAuley, Catherine

McAuley was born to a happy, devout, wealthy Catholic family but her father died when she was seven. Her mother moved the three children from their country mansion to Dublin and converted t... [more]

McQueen, Steve

Steve McQueen's father abandoned the family in Indiana when he was less than a year old. His mother then gave him into the care of an uncle, a farmer in Missouri, where he lived until he wa... [more]

Memminger, Christopher Gustavus

Memminger was born in Germany. His father died soon after his birth and his mother and grandparents emigrated to the USA soon afterwards. He was orphaned by a yellow fever epidemic in South... [more]

Monaghan, Thomas

Monaghan's father died when he was four, and he and his younger brother were put into care by their mother so that she could attend nursing school. They remained in care, foster homes and o... [more]