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Lasting legacies

Endowments, firms, doles and heirlooms that outlived their founders by centuries, and what became of them.

22 storiesEvery story with sourcesFilter all stories

What do the lasting legacies estate cases show?

A trust that projects returns two centuries ahead should say what happens when its original purpose disappears. A body left with exact instructions still depends on whoever ends up holding it.

Stories
22
Years
1800 BCE to 1970
Main regions
Europe, East Asia, Middle East
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in lasting legacies, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Benjamin Franklintitle QS:P1476,en:"Benjamin Franklin"label QS:Len,"Benjamin Franklin": A painting of Benjamin Franklin ca. 17851790 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts, USABenjamin Franklin left Boston and Philadelphia £1,000 each for 200 years, and his heirs, a school and the state fought over itA codicil dated 23 June 1789 left £1,000 to the inhabitants of Boston and £1,000 to Philadelphia. The money was to be lent at 5 percent to young married artificers under 25 to set up in business.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 2 moreJeremy Bentham: Jeremy Bentham title QS:P1476,en:"Jeremy Bentham "label QS:Len,"Jeremy Bentham "label QS:Lbn,"জেরেমি বেন্থাম"1832 · Queen's Square Place, Westminster; University College LJeremy Bentham willed his body to be dissected and displayed, and students stole his head in 1975Jeremy Bentham signed his will at Queen's Square Place, Westminster, on 30 May 1832. It gave his body to his friend Dr Southwood Smith.ucl.ac.uk and 3 moreMisión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto - Baja California Sur (14563317428): Loreto, Mexico 2014 Legend and history confirms that Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra with very few resource1842 · Mexico City, Mexico; California, USA; The Hague, NetherlandsMexico seized the Jesuit mission fund for California in 1842, and the claim ran 125 years through the first case at The HagueIn 1697 donors in Mexico began giving money and land to the Jesuits to support missions in California. Spain allowed it on condition that the royal treasury paid nothing.history.state.gov and 3 moreHouse of the Gyeongju Choe Clan: House of the Gyeongju Choe Clan in the Gyochon Traditional Village.1970 · Gyeongju and Daegu, South KoreaA Korean family gave away 300 years of wealth to found a college, and the government merged it and named Park Chung-hee its founderThe Choe family of Gyeongju were known from the 17th century for wealth and for sharing it. Their rules capped how much they could own and told them to let no one starve within 40 li of the house.imaeil.com and 5 moreJohn Knill: John Knill1811 · Gray's Inn, London; St Ives, Cornwall, EnglandJohn Knill's will pays ten girls to dance round his empty tomb in St Ives every five years, and they danced again in July 2026John Knill was Collector of Customs at St Ives from 1762 to 1782 and mayor in 1767. Wikipedia records that he searched near the Lizard for the pirate Henry Avery's treasure from 1779 to 1782.stivestowncouncil-cornwall.gov.uk and 2 moreGasse in der Fuggerei, Augsburg: Narrow street in the Fuggerei, Augsburg.1525 · Augsburg, Bavaria, GermanyJakob Fugger fixed the Fuggerei's rent at one guilder a year in 1521, and the rent has not changed in 505 yearsJakob Fugger "the Rich" (1459-1525) began building in 1516. On 23 August 1521 he signed the deed founding the Fuggerei, to exist "in perpetuity." By 1521 there were 52 buildings.blogs.loc.gov and 2 moreEdward Colston: Portrait of Edward Colston (1636-1721)label QS:Len,"Portrait of Edward Colston (1636-1721)"1721 · Mortlake, Surrey; Bristol, EnglandEdward Colston's charities carried his name for 300 years, until protesters threw his statue in Bristol harbourEdward Colston (1636-1721) was a Bristol merchant and Tory MP. He was a member of the Royal African Company from 1680 to 1692 and its deputy governor in 1689 and 1690.Courts and Tribunals Judiciary and 3 moreThomas Gresham: Anthonis Mor 004 (cropped)1579 · Bishopsgate, City of London, EnglandThomas Gresham left London a free college, and Parliament sold the building for a tax office in 1768Sir Thomas Gresham built the Royal Exchange in London at his own cost; it opened in 1567. His only legitimate son, Richard, died in 1564, and his natural daughter Anne also died before him.gresham.ac.uk and 2 moreSaskia van Uylenburgh: Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh title QS:P1476,en:"Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh "label QS:Len,"Portrait of Saskia1642 · Amsterdam, NetherlandsSaskia's will let Rembrandt use their son's inheritance only if he never remarried, and he lived unmarried and went bankruptRembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh on 22 June 1634. In 1638 her Frisian relatives complained that she was squandering her inheritance. In 1639 Rembrandt bought a house on the Sint Antonisbreestraat for 13,000 guilders.assets.cambridge.org and 4 moreThomas Sutton's Monument, The Charterhouse Chapel, Farringdon: Charterhouse, Farringdon1611 · Hackney and the Charterhouse, London, EnglandEngland's richest commoner left his fortune to a hospital, and his nephew and Francis Bacon tried to break the willThomas Sutton made his money in coal and moneylending. A 19th-century biography says he died with about £5,000 a year in land and over £60,000 in money.thecharterhouse.org and 3 moreSt Fillan’s Crozier. NMS: St Fillan’s Crozier with the Coigreach in view, 8th century, National Museum of Scotland1428 · Glendochart, Perthshire, Scotland; Plympton, Ontario, CanadaA Highland family kept St Fillan's crozier for 500 years, took it to Canada, and sold it back to Scotland for $500The Quigrich is the silver-gilt shrine of the crozier of St Fillan, an early Scottish saint. The Dewar family of Glendochart were its hereditary keepers. A keeper, Finlay Jore, is recorded in 1428.journals.socantscot.org and 3 moreHospital of St Cross, Winchester: Hospital of St Cross .mw-parser-output .messagebox{margin:4px 0;width:auto;border-collapse:collapse;border:2px solid var(--border-color-progressiv1136 · St Cross, Winchester, Hampshire, EnglandA bishop's son ran England's oldest almshouse for decades on an income Trollope turned into The WardenHenry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, founded the Hospital of St Cross about 1136.british-history.ac.uk and 6 moreKongo Gumi workers in early 20th century: Kongō Yoshie, the 38th master carpenter of Kongō Gumi and employees.578 · Osaka, JapanThe Kongō family built temples for 40 generations from 578, and lost the company to debt in 2006The company history says Prince Shōtoku invited three craftsmen from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to build Shitennō-ji in Osaka. One, Shigemitsu Kongō, stayed to look after it. The company dates itself to 578.kongogumi.co.jp and 4 moreAristotle: Aristotle Altemps Inv8575322 BCE · Chalcis, Greece; Scepsis, Troad (Turkey); Athens and RomeAristotle's heirs hid his library in a trench to keep it from the kings of Pergamum, and Sulla carried it to RomeDiogenes Laertius preserves Aristotle's will. Antipater was executor. Aristotle's daughter was to marry Nicanor.perseus.tufts.edu and 2 moreSen no Rikyu JPN: a portrait by Tōhaku Hasegawa (長谷川等伯)(born in 1539 and dead in 1610), calligraphy by Shunoku Sōen (春屋 宗園)(born in 1529 and dead in 1611). Copied from http://www.o1591 · Kyoto, JapanHideyoshi ordered his tea master to kill himself in 1591, and the Sen family won back the name that three tea houses still carrySen no Rikyū was born in Sakai in 1522. He became tea master to Oda Nobunaga in 1579 and to Toyotomi Hideyoshi after 1582. In 1591 Hideyoshi ordered him to commit seppuku. The reason is not settled.nippon.com and 4 moreMoroccan-Quarter-Western-Wall-Jerusalem-Old: Looking down on the Moroccan Quarter (left part of picture, in front of wall), later the location of the Western Wall Plaza. The now Do1193 · Maghrebi (Moroccan) Quarter, Old City, JerusalemA waqf fed Maghrebi pilgrims in Jerusalem for 774 years, and its quarter was bulldozed in one night in June 1967Saladin retook Jerusalem in 1187. In 1193 his eldest son, al-Afdal Ali, founded the Waqf Abu Madyan, known as the Maghrebi Waqf. It fed, clothed, sent home and buried pilgrims from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.laviedesidees.fr and 2 moreEntrance door of 'the church of Holy sepulchre': Entrance door to the church of Holy Sepulchre1187 · Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Old City, JerusalemTwo Muslim families have opened the Church of the Holy Sepulchre every day for centuries, and dispute which of them came firstOne iron key, about 30 cm long, opens the main door of the church where Christians locate the tomb of Jesus. A spare is broken. The Joudeh family keeps the key, and the Nuseibeh family opens and locks the door.ipsnews.net and 4 moreJapan- Nara, Todaiji Shosoin 2011: Japan: the Shōsō-in, imperial treasure house of the Tōdai-ji, in Nara city (Nara prefecture).756 · Tōdai-ji, Nara, JapanAn empress gave her dead husband's treasures to a temple in 756, took back two swords, and they were found under the Great BuddhaEmperor Shōmu built the Great Buddha at Tōdai-ji. After he died in 756, his widow, Empress Kōmyō, gave more than 600 of his possessions to the Buddha, in several gifts over a number of years.historynewsnetwork.org and 2 moreHoshi Ryokan: Hoshi Ryokan718 · Awazu Onsen, Komatsu, Ishikawa, JapanA Japanese inn passed father to son for 46 generations since 718, and the heir's death put a daughter in line for the first timeTradition says the monk Taichō founded the Awazu hot spring and that his disciple Garyo Houshi took over its sanatorium in 718 and made it an inn.publishing.insead.edu and 3 moreF.L. Griffith, Hieratic papyri from Kahun and Gurob.: Veterinary papyrus, LV.2. General Collections Keywords: gurob; hieratic papyri; kahun; petrie papyri; veterinary papyrus; Fran1800 BCE · Lahun (Kahun), Faiyum, EgyptAround 1800 BC an Egyptian priest left everything to his wife and named a guardian for his son, in one of the oldest wills knownTwo papyrus leaves from the workmen's town at Lahun record a family's property in hieratic script.collections.ucl.ac.uk and 3 moreBiddendenMaids(1808): BiddendenMaids(1808)Legend · 1134 · Biddenden, Kent, EnglandTradition says conjoined twins left Biddenden 20 acres for bread and cheese, and the rector sued to take the landTradition says Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst were born joined at the shoulder and hip in Biddenden in 1100. When Mary died, Eliza refused to be separated and died about six hours later.england.prm.ox.ac.uk and 2 moreTichborne dole: The Tichborne DoleLegend · 1150 · Tichborne, near Alresford, Hampshire, EnglandTradition says a dying Lady Tichborne crawled round 23 acres for a bread dole and cursed the family if it ever stoppedTradition says that Lady Mabella Tichborne, dying and lame, asked her husband, Sir Roger, to give food to the poor each year. He agreed to give the produce of as much land as she could crawl around while a torch burned.historic-uk.com and 4 more