Lydia Moss Bradley

Lydia Moss Bradley (July 31, 1816 – January 16, 1908) was a wealthy bank president and philanthropist notable for her philanthropic works. She founded Bradley Polytechnic Institute (now known as simply Bradley University) in Peoria, Illinois, in 1897.

Early life Lydia Moss was born on July 31, 1816, in Vevay, Indiana, alongside the Ohio River. She was a daughter of Loudoun County, Virginia, native Zealy Moss and a granddaughter of Revolutionary War chaplain Nathaniel Moss. Her mother was Fauquier County, Virginia, native Jeanette (Glasscock) Moss.

According to her National Women's Hall of Fame biographical sketch, Lydia Moss "grew up on the frontier" and was "educated in a log home." In fact, she lived in Vevay with her family until she wed Tobias S. Bradley on May 11, 1837. At the age of 31, she and her husband then moved to Peoria, Illinois. Over the next three decades they prospered in real estate and banking. Despite her husband's death in 1867 and the prior deaths of all six of their children, Lydia Moss Bradley continued to work in business and pursued philanthropic interests, particularly in the areas of healthcare and education. Under her control, the value of the Bradley estate quadrupled.

She also played a central role in the creation of Illinois' first park district. Beginning in 1881, Bradley donated more than 30 acres to the City of Peoria in memory of her daughter, Laura Bradley, for use as a public park .

As an initial step toward creating the school, Bradley purchased a controlling interest in the Parsons Horological School in LaPorte, Indiana, in 1892. She relocated the watchmaking school, along with its faculty and approximately 100 students, to Peoria. In her will, she directed that the institution eventually expand beyond technical training to include instruction in the liberal arts, industrial arts, and home economics, stating that its purpose was to provide students "with the means of living an independent, industrious and useful life by the aid of a practical knowledge of the useful arts and sciences."

University of Chicago president William Rainey Harper encouraged Bradley to establish the school during her lifetime rather than through her estate. Acting on his advice, she chartered Bradley Polytechnic Institute on November 13, 1896. She donated 17.5 acres of land, provided $170,000 for buildings, equipment, and a library, and committed $30,000 annually for operating expenses. Construction began in April 1897, and the institute opened on October 4, 1897, with 14 faculty members and approximately 150 students.

Honors In 1997, Bradley University honored Lydia Moss Bradley by erecting a statue on Founder's Circle in her honor. That statue has since been featured regularly in images used for university recruiting brochures. In June 2018, the statue was knocked down during a traffic accident. On August 16, 2018, there was a celebration in honor of the restored statue.

In 1998, Lydia Moss Bradley was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.