1854
At 22 years of age, John Huntington and his wife, Jane Beck, immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio where he began working as a contractor in slate roofing.
1891
Edward Bishop was born August 3, 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio.
1895
Lillian H. Huntington (daughter of William Robert Huntington, a son of John Huntington), was born
May 19, 1895 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her home was only a block away from where her future husband, Edward Everson Bishop was born.1912
Mary Evelyn Parker was born February 26, 1912 in Kansas to Lester M. and Ella J. Parker, the fifth of their six children.
1914
Lillian Huntington and Edward (Ned) Bishop were married in the Huntington Home in Elyria, Ohio.
1929
The Bishops finished construction on their life-long residence on Riverview Boulevard in Bradenton, Florida.
1934
The Bishops met Mary E. Parker, a recent graduate from the Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, New York, through a nursing agency in Bradenton. She quickly took on the role of their household manager, and eventually became part of their family through a formal adoption.
1953
In December of 1953, the Bishops established the Edward E. and Lillian H. Bishop Foundation for charitable giving purposes.
1962
Ned Bishop passed away at the age of 71 in Bradenton, Florida.
1966
South Florida Museum and Planetarium completed construction. Only after the planetarium was completed did Lillian reluctantly allow the naming of the planetarium after her departed husband. Miss Parker donated funds for Snooty, the resident manatee, to have a larger aquarium in which to live, as well as substantial funding to increase the Museum’s permanent endowment.
1972
Lillian Bishop passed away at the age of 77 in Bradenton, Florida.
1986
In July, Mary E. Parker created the Mary E. Parker Foundation. Mary felt strongly about continuing the legacy of the Bishops (whom she called “the folks”) and took an active interest in ensuring the enrichment of the community throughout decades of financial support. Some of the institutions benefiting from her generosity include Manatee Memorial Hospital, the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Manatee Performing Arts Center, State College of Florida, Manatee Community Foundation, Turning Points, Bishop Animal Shelter, Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc, Mote Marine, and many others in the local area.
2020
Mary E. Parker passed away quietly in her sleep at home in Bradenton, Florida at the age of 108.
2022
Edward E. and Lillian H. Bishop Foundation and Mary E. Parker Foundation merged and become the Bishop-Parker Foundation.
