Edward H. Linde was a real estate developer and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 in Boston, Massachusetts. Alongside Mortimer B. Zuckerman, he co-founded Boston Properties

Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its primary focus is "Class A" office space which it acquires, develops, and manages in the major markets of Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco...

 in 1970.

Linde was chairman of the board of the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

, a director of Jobs for Massachusetts, WGBH

WGBH-TV

WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...

, and Boston World Partnership, and a trustee at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...

.

The west wing of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is named after him, his wife, and the Linde family in recognition of the more than $25 million they donated to the museum. He also was a major donor to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

.

Linde arrived in Boston in 1958 as an undergraduate at MIT, where he studied civil engineering. He graduated from Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

 in 1964 and went to work for Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes was founded by Francis Murray Forbes in 1897 as a real estate management firm. It is one of Boston's larges firms in that industry., with interests on a nationwide basis.Notable American business leaders who have worked at this firm:...

.

He and Zuckerman redeveloped much of East Cambridge into the area now known as Kendall Square

Kendall Square

Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the "square" itself at the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street...

, helping create a U.S. technology hub, with Harvard and MIT researchers mixing with firms such as Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

, Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec, Inc. is a biotechnology company specializing in drugs for neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen Inc. and San Diego, California-based IDEC Pharmaceuticals...

, and Novartis

Novartis

Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...

.

In Boston, Linde was responsible for properties such as the office towers at 28 State Street

28 State Street

28 State Street is a modern skyscraper in the Government Center neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1970, it is Boston's 16th-tallest building, standing 500 feet tall, and housing 40 floors....

 and One Boston Place

One Boston Place

One Boston Place, also known as the Boston Company Building, is a 41-story office tower located in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. With a height of 601 feet , One Boston Place is the 4th-tallest building in the city...

. Perhaps his most prominent contribution to the city was the Prudential Center

Prudential Tower

The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is a skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was...

, where he helped transform a disjointed area into a retail mecca.

Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

 ranked him tied as the 840th richest billionaire worldwide in 2007, with a net worth of US$1.1 billion.