Place Name
Named in honour of George Peabody (February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869), the American financier who is widely credited as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into poverty he made his fortune in dry goods and later banking. On coming to England he set up the Peabody Donation Fund – now the Peabody Trust – in 1862 to provide housing for poor labourers in London. This street, on the site of the former Plaistow Hospital, saw the newly-created road named after its founder.
