Born in Boston in 1649, his family moved to England about 1652, and
        Yale was educated in London. Circa 1670, he went to Madras in the
        service of the British East India Company and rose in the ranks of the
        company. In 1687, he was appointed governor of Fort St. George at
        Madrias. Because of scandals concerning his administration, he was
        removed in 1692 and returned to London in 1699. While in the East he
        had amassed a large fortune through private trade. In 1718, Cotton
        Mather wrote Yale suggesting that the Collegiate School at Saybrook,
        Connecticut, might be named for him in return for financial support.
        Yale donated a parcel of goods, which when sold brought 562 pounds,
        the largest single gift to the college before 1837. The college, which
        had moved to New Haven, took the name of Yale.
        
Source:  The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001.