James Buchanan Duke

Biography

James Buchanan Duke (1856-1925) built a vast enterprise in the tobacco industry and helped develop electric power, putting his bold business sense to work for the benefit of many. He matched that success with an abiding belief in education and research, supporting institutions that could nurture new generations of thinkers and doers.

He is interred at Duke Chapel, where his legacy lives on through the university and the philanthropic foundations that still uplift communities, embodying the spirit of giving that defined his later years.