Spencer Trask (...1844 – 1909) was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb and his electricity network. In 1896 he reorganized The New York Times, becoming its majority shareholder and chairman.

Along with his financial acumen, Trask was a generous philanthropist, a leading patron of the arts, a strong supporter of education, and a champion of humanitarian causes...

With no close heirs, the Trasks began to entertain the idea of turning their 400-acre (1.6 km2), Saratoga Springs, New York estate into a working community of artists and writers. Twelve years after Spencer's death, Mrs. Trask married George Foster Peabody, and launched the Corporation of Yaddo. This artist community has operated continuously ever since. Wikipedia