Lydia Moss Bradley

Lydia Moss Bradley (born July 31, 1816, Vevay, Ind., U.S.—died Jan. 16, 1908, Peoria, Ill.) was an American philanthropist who founded and endowed Bradley University in Peoria. Early in life she demonstrated qualities of determination and ability. In May 1837 she married Tobias S. Bradley and moved with him to Peoria, where over the next three decades he prospered in land and banking. His death in 1867 left unbegun their plan to endow an educational institution in memory of their six children, who had all died young, but it left her the financial means to pursue it.

Bradley actively managed her estate and through wise investment, principally in Peoria real estate, greatly increased it. Various other philanthropies, including church gifts and a home for aged women, engaged her while she worked toward her principal goal. A charter for Bradley Polytechnic Institute was obtained in 1896, and in 1897 Bradley Hall and Horology Hall, the institute’s first buildings, were erected. With a $2 million endowment and a campus of 28 acres (11.3 hectares), the school was from the first firmly established. It aimed at providing both academic and practical training and was a pioneer particularly in the field of domestic science. The college, as it was called, later added art and music schools, and in 1920, discontinuing its academy, it became a regular college and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees. In 1946 it became Bradley University.