donate $50,000 to start an endowment fund to help the school resolve its financial troubles. The following year, Clark responded to this announcement with a promise to donate that amount if the college could raise an additional $100,000 for its permanent endowment before January 1, 1906. The college met that challenge in 1905, due largely to a $50,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie. Accordingly, in 1906 Western College changed its name to Leander Clark College in honor of Clark's efforts to help the school achieve financial stability. In spite of that assistance, the college went bankrupt and merged with Coe College in 1919. After the merger, one of Clark's heirs filed a lawsuit asking for return of the funds that Clark had provided to the college. The lawsuit asserted that the college had agreed to operate as an educational institution named for Leander Clark, and that the college breached its contract with Clark when it ceased to exist under his name. In 1922, the Supreme Court of Iowa decided the case in favor of the college, finding that the primary purpose of Clark's gift was not to perpetuate his name, but to support education. References 1823 births 1910 deaths Businesspeople from Iowa Members of the Iowa House of Representatives People from Toledo, Iowa People from Wakeman, Ohio People of Iowa in the American Civil War People of the California Gold Rush United States Indian agents Oberlin College alumni Iowa state court judges Union Army officers American real estate businesspeople Patrons of schools People from Yreka, California 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American judges 19th-century American philanthropists Military personnel from California