Harkness, Edward Stephen (1874-1940), was an American philanthropist. He devoted his life to giving away the fortune his father made as a partner of John D. Rockefeller. He helped his mother establish the Commonwealth Fund, a major philanthropic foundation, and made important gifts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. During the 1920's, he donated $55 million to schools, hospitals, libraries, and museums in the United States and Europe. The total of his gifts probably exceeded $100 million. Harkness was born in Cleveland.