Samuel Parsons Scott was born in Hillsboro, Ohio in 1846. After graduating from Miami University in 1866 he studied law and passed the Ohio bar at age 22. Scott practiced law in Kansas and California for seven years before his health declined and he returned to Hillsboro in 1875. After quitting law, he decided to work in the family banking business and pursue history. He published his first book, Through Spain, in 1866. He would later publish The History of the Moorish Empire in Europe in 1904 and The Visigothic Code.
At some time in his life Scott was treated for hay fever at Jefferson Medical College, which he remembered while writing his will. Upon his May 30, 1929 death Scott endowed $1,250,000 to Jefferson Medical College for a medical library and donated his personal collection of 8,000 books. In the end, JMC only accepted 45% of the $1,250,000 because Scott's widow Elizabeth contested the will. However, to this day the library is named after Scott.
Samuel Parsons Scott Papers, MS-051. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections.
Samuel Parsons Scott Papers, MS-051. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections. http://aisrmedia1.jefferson.edu:81/repositories/2/resources/48 Accessed May 14, 2024.