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A statue of Washington Duke can be found on Duke University's East Campus

Washington Duke (December 18, 1820 – May 08, 1905) was an American tobacco industrialist and philanthropist.

Duke was born George Washington Duke in Durham County, North Carolina, to Taylor Duke (c1770–1830) and Dicey Jones (c1780–?). On August 9, 1842, he married Mary Caroline Clinton (1825–1847) with whom he had two children: Sidney Taylor Duke (1844–1858) and Brodie Leonidas Duke (1846–1919).

After Mary Duke's death at age twenty-two, he married Artelia Romey (1829–1858) on December 9, 1852. Both Mary and Artelia died of typhoid fever. With Artelia Duke, he had three children: Mary Elizabeth Duke (1853–1893) who married Robert E. Lyon; Benjamin Newton Duke (1855–1929) and James Buchanan Duke (1856–1925).

Washington Duke served in the Confederate Navy (against his will; he was opposed to slavery [1]) (1863–1865) during the American Civil War. After the war, he grew tobacco, but in 1874, he sold his rural home and moved to the city of Durham, where he began his tobacco business. His workers hand processed tobacco into a form that could be sold by the bag for pipe smokers or hand rolled into cigarettes. In 1881, the W. Duke Sons and Company was established as a tobacco manufacturer and was soon a marketer of pre-rolled cigarettes.

After a "tobacco war" among the five large manufacturers, Washington's son James Duke became president of the dominant American Tobacco Company and son Benjamin its vice-president. They would build the company into a multi-national corporation and a monopoly. In 1880 the Dukes were residing in Durham, and Washington was living with his son James and two sister-in-laws: Bettie Romey (1830–?) and Annie Romey (1846–?). Also in the household were Jennie Procter (1862–?) as "house assistant" and two servants: Louisa Sparkman (1867–?); and Laura Hopkins (1869–?).

Duke used his influence to have Trinity College moved to Durham. The institution opened its new campus in 1892 with he and son Benjamin as its principal benefactors. In 1896, Duke gifted the college with $100,000 (about $2,200,000 in 2005 dollars) on the condition that it open its doors to women. Trinity College was renamed in honor of Duke in 1924, becoming Duke University.

Washington Duke is interred in Memorial Chapel in the Duke University Chapel on the campus of Duke University. He is memorialized by a statue at the entrance to Duke's East Campus.

• Duke University biography of Washington Duke