Folger Shakespeare Library - History

History

Standard Oil of New York president, then chairman of the board, Henry Clay Folger, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, was an avid collector of Shakespeareana. Toward the end of World War I, he and his wife Emily Jordan Folger began searching for a location for his Shakespeare library. They chose a location adjacent to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.. The land was then occupied by townhouses, and Folger spent several years buying the separate lots. The site was designated for expansion by the Library of Congress, but in 1928 the Congress passed a resolution allowing its use for Folger's project.

The cornerstone of the library was laid in 1930, but Folger died soon afterward. The bulk of Folger's fortune was left in trust, with Amherst College as administrator, for the library. Because of the stock market crash of 1929, Folger's estate was smaller than he had planned, although still substantial. Emily Folger, who had worked with her husband on his collection, supplied the funds to complete the project. The library opened on April 23, 1932 (believed to be Shakespeare's birthday). Emily Folger remained involved in its administration until shortly before her death in 1936.