Eleanor Searle

Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum was an independent woman of means who was married to two important American men, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and Leonard Franklin "Mac" McCollum. She achieved a unique and separable identity as a philanthropist and community organizer in Houston, Texas. Her contributions included the establishment of the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers of Houston Grand Opera, patronage for Orbis International, and, together with her second husband, an important role in the development of Baylor College of Medicine.