George W. Woodruff

George Waldo Woodruff (August 27, 1895 – February 4, 1987 in Atlanta, Georgia) was an American engineer, businessman, and philanthropist in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1917 and gave generously to both his alma mater and Emory University, including (in coordination with his brother Robert W. Woodruff) what was at the time the single largest donation ever to a school, $105 million to Emory University in 1979.

Early life Woodruff went to high school at Tech High School (now Midtown High School) and attended Georgia Tech's School of Mechanical Engineering and later the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but left school in 1917 due to World War I. At Georgia Tech, he was a brother of the Kappa Alpha Order.

Career From 1936 to 1985 (49 years), Woodruff was the director of the Coca-Cola Company, although he was never an officer of the company. He also headed the Continental Gin Company from 1930 to 1985, which was a cotton-processing business.

Woodruff's will provided that his daughter, Frances Woodruff received no money, although it provides for the establishment of a $200,000 trust to be used on her behalf should she become destitute. According to a lawsuit, his two other daughters, Jane and Irene, were each to receive about $30 million. At Emory, the George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center and the George and Irene Woodruff Residential Center bear his name. Finally, there are numerous scholarships at Georgia Tech, Mercer, Emory and the University of Georgia named in his memory.