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William Andrews Clark Jr.

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American philanthropist (1877–1934)
William Andrews Clark Jr.
BornMarch 29, 1877
Deer Lodge, Montana, US
DiedJune 14, 1934(1934-06-14) (aged 57)
Salmon Lake, Montana, US
Occupation(s)Businessman, lawyer, book collector, philanthropist
Spouses
Mabel Duffield Foster ​ ​(m. 1902; died 1903)​
Alice McManus ​ ​(m. 1907; died 1916)​
PartnerHarrison Post
ChildrenWilliam A. Clark III
Parent(s)William A. Clark
Katherine Louise Stauffer
RelativesHuguette Clark (sister)
Tomb of philanthropist William A. Clark Jr., Hollywood Forever Cemetery

William Andrews Clark Jr. (March 29, 1877 – June 14, 1934) was a Los Angeles–based philanthropist and the youngest surviving son of copper baron and U.S. Senator William Andrews Clark Sr. and his first wife, Katherine.

Early life

William Andrews Clark Jr. was born on March 29, 1877, in Deer Lodge, Montana. His father was William A. Clark and his mother was Katherine Louise Stauffer. He was educated in France and in the New York area and graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in law in 1899.

Career and hobbies

Clark was a partner in the law firm Clark & Roote in Butte, Montana. He also served on the boards of several of his father's mining and industrial concerns.

Book collection

In the mid-1910s, he began collecting antiquarian and fine press books as a serious hobby (he had dabbled in book buying previous to this). In 1919, he hired bibliographer Robert E. Cowan to consult on book-buying purchases and to help with the compilation of a printed library catalog. The first volume of this was printed in 1920 by San Francisco printer John Henry Nash.

Philanthropy

He founded the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which debuted in the Trinity Auditorium in 1919, and bequeathed his library of rare books and manuscripts, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, to the University of California, Los Angeles upon his death in 1934. He also helped to fund the construction of the Hollywood Bowl.

Personal life

In 1902, he married Mabel Duffield Foster (1880–1903), who died of sepsis following the birth of their son William Andrews Clark III ("Tertius") (1902–1932), who died in a plane crash in Arizona in 1932.

In 1907, he married Alice McManus (1883–1916), a native Nevadan, and they moved their permanent home to Los Angeles in the early 1910s (Clark County, Nevada is named for his father). Their house at Adams Boulevard and Cimarron Street occupied the grounds that the Clark Library is now located.

Clark also had romantic relationships with men. Notable among his lovers was Harrison Post, who co-transcribed Clark's collection of Oscar Wilde's letters to Lord Alfred Douglas. Clark also put Post in charge of the interior decoration of the Clark Library. According to library staff, the thirteen naked men painted on the library's ornate ceiling all have Post's face. Post lived in a mansion across from Clark's on Cimarron Street and inherited a substantial trust fund on Clark's death.

Death

He died on June 14, 1934, at Salmon Lake, Montana. He is entombed in the family mausoleum which he built on the island in Sylvan Lake at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Both of his wives and his son are also in the mausoleum.

References

  1. "Daughter of Connellsville's controversial billionaire dies". The Tribune-Review. May 28, 2011. Retrieved Jan 6, 2017.
  2. "Records of William Andrews Clark Jr. and the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Clarkive.Pre-1934". www.oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  3. "MRS. W. A. CLARK, JR. DEAD. Was Daughter-in-Law of Montana Senator--Illness Dated from Birth of Her Son" (PDF). The New York Times. January 2, 1903. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  4. "NEWS OF FATAL PLANE CRASH COMES AS SEVERE SHOCK TO RESIDENTS OF MINING CITY". The Montana Standard. 16 May 1932. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  5. Brown, Liz (2021). Twilight Man LOVE AND RUIN IN THE SHADOWS OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE CLARK EMPIRE. Penguin Random House. ISBN 9780143132905.
  6. Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
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