Robert, Christopher Rhinelander

Robert, Christopher Rhinelander

(1802–78) merchant, philanthropist; born near Brook Haven, N.Y. He was an importer (1835–62) and president of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (1858–63). A benefactor of religious and educational institutions including Beloit College and Auburn Theological Seminary, he founded (1863) and financially supported the secular Robert College near Istanbul, Turkey, which remains one of the major institutions of higher education for young people from this region of the world.