THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230520
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 43 lines
A former student at the College of William and Mary has given a multimillion-dollar gift to the school's Institute of Early American History and Culture, the college announced Tuesday.
Malvern H. Omohundro Jr., 91, of Richmond, said he and his wife, Elizabeth, were making the donation in gratitude for the wealth of history he ``soaked up'' as a college student in the 1920s.
``Because I so much enjoyed this, I wanted to ensure that those of later generations had the same opportunity to understand the past,'' said Omohundro, who attended William and Mary in 1924 and 1925 before beginning his career. He is a former president of Old Dominion Real Estate Co.
Omohundro declined to specify the amount of the gift.
The institute, founded in 1943, is run jointly by the college and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. It focuses on the period of American history from the first visits by explorers until about 1815.
The institute holds academic conferences, publishes an academic journal - the William and Mary Quarterly - and offers classes in history and American studies at the college.
``Mr. and Mrs. Omohundro's magnificent gift will assure the continued vitality of an institute that for more than five decades has helped define our understanding of what it means to be an American,'' said the college's president, Timothy J. Sullivan.
Robert C. Wilburn, president of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, said: ``Thanks to the Omohundros' generosity, the contributions of the institute toward our understanding of the past - and its relevance to the present and future - will continue for many years to come.''
Omohundro said his ancestors immigrated to America in 1670 and settled in Westmoreland County.
``I was raised in an historic atmosphere,'' he said. ``Father was interested in genealogy and wrote a history of our family, which actively participated in the American Revolution. As a result of the activities of my ancestors and my own longevity, I am one of the oldest members of the Sons of the American Revolution.''
The institute will be renamed the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. by CNB