biography
| name: |
Duke, James (Buchanan)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1856–1925)
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| biography:
| Businessman and philanthropist, born near Durham, North Carolina, USA. He grew leaf tobacco on his father's farm and saved his family from post-Civil War poverty. He turned to manufacturing cigarettes (1881), opened a branch factory in New York City (1884), and formed the American Tobacco Co (1890) which competed with the British Imperial Tobacco Co. He also founded the Southern Power Co (1905) to develop hydroelectric power. In 1924 he put his fortune into a trust to be given to various charitable and educational institutions, in particular to Trinity College, NC, which was re-named Duke University. |
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