Theodore Richard Stanley (April 26, 1931 – January 3, 2016)[1][2] was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He co-founded the Danbury Mint[2] with business partner Ralph Glendinning, which was then a subsidiary of MBI Inc.

Ted Stanley
Born(1931-04-26)April 26, 1931
DiedJanuary 3, 2016(2016-01-03) (aged 84)
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania

Early life

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Stanley was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and graduated from University of Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Air Force and was an intelligence officer. Stanley worked for Procter & Gamble in the marketing division in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]

Business

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In 1969 Stanley co-founded the Danbury Mint, which sells collectibles (such as commemorative postage stamps, decorative plates, medals, commemorative coins, and similar items) it has produced for it by mail order.[3]

The Mint's first product was a medal series that commemorated the Apollo 11 first crewed Moon landing. After this, the business continued to expand,[4] enough to make Stanley a billionaire during his lifetime.[3]

Connection to mental health

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In 1988, Stanley's son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 19 after having a psychiatric episode that saw him running around New York streets for 3 days and stripping off his clothes in public.[2][3][5][6] His son was eventually helped with a lithium treatment, and eventually finished college and law school,[3][6] but during the course of his son's treatment he met many parents who were not so lucky, whose children did not improve after treatment.[4] In response, Stanley started donating to mental health research.[7]

Philanthropy

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Stanley died in his sleep in New Canaan, Connecticut.[5] Before he died, Stanley made a large donation to the Broad Institute of Cambridge, MA[8] of approximately $650 million for research into genetic markers of mental health.[2][4][9] It is recognized as one of the largest private donations ever to support scientific research and the largest ever for mental health research.[5] Before his estates large $650 million donation, which comprised the majority of Stanley's financial holdings,[4] he had periodically donated an additional $175 million, making his lifetime contribution to the Broad Institute $825 million, to support work and research.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Remembering Ted Stanley". Broad Institute. January 11, 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Roberts, Sam (January 8, 2016). "Ted Stanley, Whose Son's Illness Inspired Philanthropy, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Earley, P. (2007). Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness. Berkley Publishing Group. pp. 223–224. ISBN 978-0-425-21389-6.
  4. ^ a b c d Nickisch, Curt (July 22, 2014). "Son's Mental Illness Prompts Billionaire's Big Donation To Psychiatric Research". NPR. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d ABC News. "Businessman Ted Stanley, Who Gave $650M Gift, Dies at Age 85". ABC News. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b Zimmer, Carl; Carey, Benedict (July 21, 2014). "A $650 Million Donation for Psychiatric Research". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Rachel Zimmerman. "Ted Stanley, Who Donated Hundreds Of Millions For Mental Illness Research, Dies". Common Health. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  9. ^ Grohol, John M. (July 25, 2014). "Ted Stanley Donates $650 Million to Psychiatric Research". Psych Central. Retrieved January 15, 2016.