Gordon v. Mayor of Baltimore

George Peabody, one of the greatest of the nineteenth century philanthropists, cast his gift to the people of Baltimore in a form typical of his time. 1 He determined to establish an “institute” which would have as its purpose “the improvement of the moral and intellectual culture of the inhabitants of Baltimore, and collaterally to those of the State; and, also, towards the enlargement and diffusion of a taste for the Fine Arts.” 2

As we shall see, nine years passed before The Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore (the Peabody or the Institute) opened its doors on 25 October 1866, but…