George Peabody

After a meeting just round the corner from the Royal Exchange in the City, I came across this statue which I would have walked past twice a day when I worked in Threadneedle Street.
It is of George Peabody, an American financier and philanthropist, who is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy.
From Wikipedia:
Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry goods, and later into banking. In 1837 he moved to London – then the capital of world finance – where he became the most noted American banker and helped to establish the young country's international credit.  Having no son of his own to whom he could pass on his business, Peabody took on Junius Spencer Morgan as a partner in 1854 and their joint business would go on to become J.P. Morgan & Co. after Peabody's 1864 retirement.
In his old age, Peabody won worldwide acclaim for his philanthropy. He founded the Peabody Trust in Britain.  Founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund it now brands itself simply as Peabody. It is one of London's oldest and largest housing associations with around 55,000 properties across London and the South East
Peabody was made a Freeman of the City of London and died on November 4, 1869, aged 74
So yesterday was the 150th anniversary of his death and someone left these flowers (blip[ 2).
Great work George