Folger, Henry Clay

Folger, Henry Clay (fōl`jər), 1857–1930, American industrialist and collector of Shakespeareana. His connection with Standard Oil companies, beginning in 1879, continued until his retirement 49 years later as chairman of the board of the New York company. He was an enthusiastic student of Shakespeare during his college days and became a discerning collector. His wife,

Emily Jordan Folger (d. 1936), was his associate in this work. Their collection, quietly acquired, became one of the largest and most valuable of its sort in the world. The

Folger Shakespeare Library, east of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 1932. Its major collections contain more than 250,000 volumes, primarily 16th-and 17th-century works of literature, drama, and history of the English Renaissance. It is administered by Amherst College trustees.

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Folger, Henry Clay (1857–1930) book collector, philanthropist; born in New York City. An industrialist who was president and then chairman of the board of Standard Oil (1911–28), he assembled an outstanding Shakespeare collection and, in 1928, established the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., to house it.