Descendant of Winthrop benefactor to visit Rock Hill campus

John Winthrop of Charleston, a descendant of the benefactor for whom Winthrop University is named, will visit the campus and speak on Feb. 22.

Winthrop, a direct descendant of Robert Charles Winthrop, who gave an 1886 contribution used to establish the Rock Hill school, will discuss his family’s heritage in Tuttle Dining Room.

“This is a wonderful connection for me, a very proud connection,” said Winthrop.

Winthrop was born in Boston and earned a degree at Harvard University. He owns a financial services firm, John Winthrop & Company Inc., in Charleston.

Winthrop University is named for Robert Charles Winthrop, a Boston philanthropist and lawyer who was chairman and president of the Peabody Fund.

Winthrop’s founder and first president, D.B. Johnson, met with Winthrop in the summer of 1886 and asked for money, said Eddie Lee, a Winthrop associate professor of history.

Winthrop gave Johnson $1,500 from the Peabody Fund and $50 of his own money, Lee said.

With this seed money, Johnson established a training school for female educators.

During the visit, Lee will discuss “Robert Charles Winthrop: The Kindness of Strangers.”

John Winthrop served in the Navy and worked as a journalist. He earned a master’s degree in business at Columbia University and continued his journalism career at The Atlantic Monthly in Washington, D.C., during the Kennedy administration, and later at The Boston Globe.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Descendant of Winthrop benefactor to visit Rock Hill campus."