Philanthropic Celebrity in the Age of Sensibility

This volume, an original combination of biography, cultural history, and media studies, investigates the first moment in history when philanthropy was used as a self-standing claim to fame and philanthropists started being considered as a distinct breed of public figures.

Adrian Wesöowski is a Research Fellow at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. He studies social and cultural history in modern and early modern Europe with particular focus on the history of philanthropy and the history of the public sphere.

Introduction 1. The Age of Sensibility 2. At the Roots of Philanthropic Celebrity 3. Howard - A Career in Humanity 4. Oberlin - La célébrité de la vertu 5. Staszic - Nie-miertelny i dobroczynny 6. The Figure of the Philanthropist 7. The Momentousness of Philanthropic Fame. Conclusion