Just in time for the start of my spring trusts and estates class comes this entertaining article in the Crimson on ten unusual bequests to Harvard. They run the spectrum from modest but funny (novels given to Widener and graded by the donor) to the extraordinary (the largest gift ever given to Harvard -- though that seems to be an inter vivos gift rather than a bequest). Another was a gift of a forest via will and yet another was a villa in Florence, Italy -- so we'd say those are devises not bequests, but who's quibbling. It's not as though someone at Harvard confused verbal with oral. (Smile to my friends in Chapel Hill.)
You may recall that I blogged a little about an early nineteenth century devise to Harvard a few months back. That might have been a good one to include on this list. Probably time to start collecting some cool stories about other devises to colleges....
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