Patrick Heath, age 15, of White Plains, N.Y., for his question:

WHO WAS JOHNS HOPKINS?

Johns Hopkins was an American merchant and financier who left a bequest of $3,500,000 for the founding in 1876 of Johns Hopkins University, an institution of higher learning in Baltimore, Md. He left an equal amount of money to found Johns Hopkins Hospital, which opened in 1893.

Johns Hopkins lived from 1795 until 1873.

When Johns Hopkins University opened, it was considered an experiment, but it was an immediate success. The new school was modeled after European universities rather than American colleges and emphasized graduate research rather than collegiate instruction.

Students of the university's medical school, which is considered one of the best in the world, train at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

In addition to the medical school, the principal divisions of the university include the arts and sciences, hygiene and public health, health services and advanced international studies.