[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 6, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    TRIBUTE TO MARY CAPERTON BINGHAM

                                 ______


                             HON. MIKE WARD

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 1995
  Mr. WARD. Mr. Speaker, it is a distinct honor for me to pay tribute 
today to a truly remarkable individual who recently passed away, Mary 
Caperton Bingham of Louisville, KY.
  Mary Bingham and her husband Barry Bingham, Sr. met in their college 
days at Radcliffe and Harvard, respectively, and together built a media 
powerhouse which included The Courier-Journal newspaper of Louisville 
until it was sold in 1986. However, the Bingham publishing empire, 
which began in 1918 with the purchase of The Courier-Journal and The 
Louisville Times by Robert Worth Bingham, is not the most remarkable 
aspect of Mary Bingham's life--the attribute which most accurately 
describes the way she lived her life is her generosity.
  In only a 9-year timespan, from the time of the sale of the Bingham 
media properties, Mary and Barry Bingham, in contributing almost $60 
million to education and arts funds throughout Kentucky, came close to 
achieving their goal of ``giving it all away'' before their deaths. In 
rural Kentucky, Mary Bingham founded bookmobiles to encourage children 
to read and value their education--education and the arts were central 
to Mary Bingham's philosophy of what made a civilization great, and to 
this end she dedicated many years of her life. She donated money to 
many social causes, environmental funds, historic preservations, health 
care facilities, and community developments. Along with this money came 
her insightful wisdom and expert counsel. Throughout her life, Mary 
Bingham was a woman far ahead of her times who did not hesitate to let 
her views be heard and you may rest assured that when she spoke, people 
listened and they appreciated her advice.
  My hometown city of Louisville now offers one of the most extensive 
arts programs in the Nation, including the Kentucky Center for the Arts 
and the Actors Theatre of Louisville, which could not have been 
possible without the efforts of Mary Bingham.
  The city of Louisville, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and indeed the 
entire Nation lost one of our most dedicated and generous citizens and 
we will truly miss her civic contributions, her insightful knowledge 
and counsel, her dedication and endurance, and her grace and beauty.


                          ____________________