Joseph Palmer Knapp was a pioneering American publisher, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist of national stature. Knapp's ties to North Carolina began with a hunting trip to Currituck County in 1916. His interest in the operations of local government led him to extend his philanthropy to the government and schools of Currituck County. In the 1940s, recognizing the need for systematic training of public officials, Knapp began a correspondence with Albert Coates, founder of the Institute of Government. In 1952, shortly after his death, the Knapp Foundation made a gift that enabled the construction of a new Institute building on the UNC campus. Through the Knapp Foundation, the family's support of the School of Government continues to the present day and was key to completing what is now the Knapp-Sanders Building, home to the Joseph Palmer Knapp Library.