JENNINGS, MARTHA F. HOLDEN (26 Dec. 1873-8 Aug. 1962) was responsible for the establishment of the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation in 1959.

Born and educated in Cleveland, she was the daughter of Justice Justis and Ella Louisa Pitkin Holden. Martha Holden married Andrew R. Jennings on 14 Sept. 1897. With Andrew's promotion as the European General Manager of International Business Machine Corporation (IBM) the couple moved overseas living in Great Britain and Europe for the next 31 years. Returning to Cleveland in 1931, Andrew Jennings died suddenly, leaving Martha a wealthy and childless widow.

Following her husband's death, Mrs. Jennings moved to Wade Park Manor, spending extensive time travelling throughout the United States. Having no close relatives Mrs. Jennings sought ways to distribute and use her vast wealth. She made individual bequests of $10 million to Case Institute of Technology, The University Circle Development Foundation, and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, which dedicated a building to her memory. She also made a number of substantial gifts to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Her interest in IBM stock made Mrs. Jennings $35 million estate one of the largest ever probated in Cuyahoga County. The educational foundation bearing her name was her major gift. Mrs. Jennings is buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.

Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Records, WRHS.

Crail, Marc. The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation: An Institutional History, 1959-1984.

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