Sage, Margaret Olivia Slocum (1828-1918), was an American philanthropist. During the early 1900’s, she donated about $75 million to educational institutions and charities. She financed her philanthropic activities with a fortune inherited in 1906 from her husband, Russell B. Sage, a banker and investor.
Margaret Sage’s most important project was the establishment of the Russell Sage Foundation in 1907. This foundation supports research projects aimed at social and economic progress. She founded Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, and donated money to many other schools. She gave large sums to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Museum of Natural History, and the New York Public Library, all in New York City. Her other gifts included a 70,000-acre (28,000-hectare) bird refuge on Marsh Island, which lies off the coast of Louisiana, and donations to hospitals. She was born on Sept. 8, 1828, in Syracuse, New York. She died on Nov. 4, 1918.
