A New Kind of Patronage.

Modern American science, especially that carried out in major universities and hospitals, has been highly dependent not only on government support but on the aid of large philanthropic organizations known as foundations. Until the first decade of the twentieth century, however, American scientists either worked in universities or in some cases government bureaus, both of which supported research on a modest level. If they conceived of projects that were out of the ordinary, scientists either had to find a private donor or put up the money themselves. In 1902 the Carnegie Institution was founded by Andrew Carnegie; then in 1909 John D. Rockefeller established the Rockefeller Foundation. Both organizations believed that promising scientific ideas and capable scientists ought to be supported substantially, but there were no precedents to guide either the new foundations or the scientists themselves in...