Sage, Mrs. Russell

Sage, Mrs. Russell (b. Margaret Olivia Slocum)

(1828–1918) philanthropist; born in Syracuse, N.Y. She taught school intermittently after she graduated from Troy Female Seminary. In 1869 she married Russell B. Sage (1816–1906), who accumulated one of the major American fortunes through railroads and investments. After his death, she gave grants to schools, colleges, and nature institutions that totaled $80 million, making her the foremost woman philanthropist of her day.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.