Thomas Handasyd Perkins
Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, also known as T. H. Perkins (December 15, 1764 – January 11, 1854), was an American merchant, slave trader, smuggler and philanthropist from a wealthy Boston Brahmin family. Starting with bequests from his grandfather and father-in-law, he amassed a huge fortune. As a young man, he traded slaves in Saint-Domingue, worked as a maritime fur trader trading furs from the American Northwest to China, and then turned to smuggling Turkish opium into China. His philanthropic contributions include the Perkins School for the Blind, renamed in his honor; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; McLean Hospital; along with having a hand in founding the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Thomas Handasyd Perkins | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Gilbert Stuart | |
| Born | December 15, 1764 |
| Died | January 11, 1854 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Shipping magnate |
| Spouse |
Sarah Elliott
(m. 1788; died 1852) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent(s) | James Perkins Elizabeth Peck |
| Relatives | Edward Clarke Cabot (grandson) James Elliot Cabot (grandson) Samuel Cabot III (grandson) Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (granddaughter) |
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