DREXEL

drexel, anthony joseph (1826-1893), american banker, was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, on the 13th of september 1826. he was the son of francis m. drexel (1792-1863), a native of austrian tirol, who emigrated to america in 1817, and, after some years spent as a portrait-painter, became a banker and the founder of the house of drexel & company. anthony, who entered his father's counting-house in 1839, eventually, with his brothers francis and joseph, succeeded to the control of the business, and organized the banking houses of drexel, morgan & company, new york, of which his brother joseph w. (1833-1888) was long the resident head, and of drexel, harjes & company, paris. in 1864 he joined his friend george w. childs in the purchase of the philadelphia _public ledger_, and with him in 1892 founded the printers' home for union men at colorado springs. in 1891 he founded, and endowed with $2,000,000, the drexel institute of art, science and industry in philadelphia, the buildings for which he constructed at a cost of $750,000. this institution provides technical instruction for both night and day classes and public lecture courses, and has a good museum and a library of 35,000 volumes. drexel died at carlsbad, germany, on the 30th of june 1893.