Duke University Archives

Duke for Kids

Information for grade and middle school students about Duke University,
the Duke Family and their place in North Carolina history.

Click here for a brief history of the University

The Duke brothers, Ben (left) and James B. (right) on vacation in Atlantic City, around 1923.

The Duke Family

The Duke name is often associated with the tobacco industry. We like to say that they made their nickels and dimes there; their quarters and half-dollars they made in other industries. James B. Duke was the most financially successful member of the family. He made two fortunes, one in tobacco, and the other by building a company to generate electrical power. The Duke Power Company (now part of Duke Energy Corporation) provides electricity to many families and businesses in the Carolinas. Part of the money made by the power company is returned to the people of these states.

This is done through the charitable foundation James B. Duke established, The Duke Endowment. The Endowment's headquarters are in Charlotte, NC. Since 1925, it has given over a billion dollars to the people of the Carolinas. The Duke Endowment works by giving money to various charities in North and South Carolina: child care, hospitals, churches, and four institutions of higher education; Duke University, named for the family, is one of them. The other schools are Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte and Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina, and Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Brief biographies:
Washington Duke
Benjamin Duke
James B. Duke

The Duke Family and the University

Duke University history
Julian Abele, the man who designed Duke University.
The Blue Devil mascot