George D. and Harriet W. Cornell of Delray Beach, Fla., and Central Valley, N.Y., made history this October by making the largest scholarship gift ever given to Cornell University, the Ivy-League research university in central New York state. The Cornells' $10 million gift was announced by Cornell President Hunter Rawlings at an annual meeting of the university trustees and council members Oct. 23.

Rawlings underscored the importance of the Cornells' gift and of scholarships in general: "Through their extraordinary generosity, George and Harriet Cornell have opened wide the doors of opportunity for generations of talented young men and women. We are deeply grateful and applaud their farsighted philanthropy. Scholarships make Cornell affordable to students of outstanding potential, no matter what their financial means."

George Cornell, who is a presidential councillor of the university, said of the gift: "It feels good to do this, and we hope others will join us. Education is what made our country great."

The gift will be made as a bequest and qualifies for challenge funds that match, by one third, gifts to the university's scholarship challenge campaign.

George and Harriet Cornell have many ties to Cornell University. The most obvious one is the shared name. George Cornell and the university's founder, Ezra Cornell, have an ancestor in common -- Thomas Cornell, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1638. The two Cornell families also share a Quaker heritage and a passionate belief in education and philanthropy.

Harriet Cornell remembers attending concerts on the university's campus when she was a young girl. George Cornell's father, Edward, was the university's first law librarian as well as a student in Cornell Law School's first graduating class, in 1889. The Edward Cornell Professorship of Law was endowed in his honor by George Cornell and his sisters, Phoebe

Cornell Maresi and Katherine Cornell Stainton. George and Harriet Cornell also endowed the Edward Cornell Librarianship at the Cornell Law School and made the lead gift for the renovation of Bailey Hall, the university's central lecture and concert hall.

In addition to their gifts to Cornell, the couple are major benefactors of George Cornell's alma mater, Rollins College, in Orlando, Fla., where George is a college trustee. They also have lent their support to such Delray Beach institutions as the Old School Square and the cafe in the Morakami Museum of Japanese Art. They supported the building of the Cornell Progressive Health Center at Arden Hill Hospital in Goshen, N.Y.

"We've enjoyed seeing the results of our gifts," Harriet Cornell said, "and seeing other people enjoy what we have given."