Henry Fowle Durant

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For the founder of the University of California, see Henry Durant.

Henry Fowle Durant (originally Henry Welles Smith) (February 22, 1822 – October 3, 1881) was an American lawyer and philanthropist

Durant was born in Hanover, New Hampshire He graduated from Harvard in 1841, studied law, and subsequently practiced in Boston. He underwent a religious conversion and became a lay preacher in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 1864-75. He contributed between one and two million dollars to found Wellesley College.

Durant died from Bright's Disease at the age of 59.