| Spencer Trask | |
 "The Man Who Backed Thomas Edison"
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| Born | September 18, 1844 Brooklyn, New York |
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| Died | December 31, 1909 (aged 65) Croton, New York |
| Occupation | Financier, Philanthropist |
| Religious beliefs | Episcopal |
| Spouse | Katrina Trask |
Spencer Trask was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Financier (fɨˈnænsiɚ or finãˈsje in French is a term for a person who handles large sums of Money, usually involving money lending, financing Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. Katrina Trask ( May 30, 1853 &ndash January 8, 1922) was an author and philanthropist Venture capital (also known as VC or Venture) is a type of Private equity capital typically provided to immature high-potential growth companies Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb. The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is a source of electric Light that works by Incandescence, (a general He was a director in the Rio Grande Western Railroad, of which one of his partners, George Foster Peabody was vice president. He was also president and the largest stockholder in the company that owns the Bowling Green building. He was a member of the Union League, Metropolitan, Grolier Club, and National Arts Club of New York, and took a prominent part in municipal reform and local politics, especially in connection with the Gold Democrats. A Union League is one of a number of organizations established in 1863 and 1864 during the American Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union The Grolier Club is a society of bibliophiles, founded in New York City in January 1884 the oldest such club in North America The National Arts Club is a private club founded in 1898 to "stimulate foster and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts" The National Democratic Party or Gold Democrats was a short-lived political party of Bourbon Democrats, who opposed the regular party nominee William Jennings In 1897 he reorganized the New York Times of which he was the largest owner, as well as president of the company. His literary work was limited to editorials contributed occasionally to that paper.
Along with his financial acumen, Trask was a generous philanthropist, a leading patron of the arts, a strong supporter of education, and a champion of humanitarian causes. His gifts to his alma mater, Princeton University, were generous enough to set a lecture series to his name, that still continues to this day. Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. He was also a trustee of the Teachers' College (now Teachers College, Columbia University) and St. Rankings According to US News & World Report, Teachers College Columbia University currently ranks as the #1 Graduate Stephen's College. [1]
Contents |
Supporter of Inventions in the Experimental Stages
Spencer Trask was often a supporter of new inventions in their experimental stages. He foresaw the potential of inventions such as the Marconi wireless telegraph, the telephone, the phonograph, the trolley car, and the automobile; "to all of these he gave of his time, his money and his judgment, to aid in their development. "[2]
Backed Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, was financed and supported by Trask. The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is a source of electric Light that works by Incandescence, (a general For over twenty years he was president of the New York Edison Company, pioneering the development of distributed electricity through capacitors, networks, and transfer stations. The company became known as Consolidated Edison, one of the world’s first electric power companies. Consolidated Edison Inc is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $30 billion in assets Trask was also part of the Edison illuminating business throughout the country, and one of the original trustees of the Edison Electric Light Company, the predecessor to the General Electric Company, being for many years a member of the executive committee. [3]
Saved New York Times from Bankruptcy
In 1896, Adolph S. Ochs, who became the publisher of The New York Times, came to 25 Broad Street to meet with Spencer Trask. Adolph Simon Ochs (b March 12, 1858 &ndash April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of The New York Times Mr. Spencer Trask and his chief associate, George Foster Peabody, were leaders of an investing group that had recently bought The New York Times, which was near bankruptcy. George Foster Peabody (July 27 1852 &ndash March 4 1938 was banker born in Columbus Georgia to George Henry Peabody and Elvira Canfield With Ochs as publisher and Trask as the financer, The New York Times was relaunched with the motto, "All the News that is Fit to Print. "[4]
At that time, John Moody, who became the publisher of Moody's Investors Service, was a young financial researcher for Spencer Trask & Company
Founded Yaddo
With no close heirs, Spencer and Katrina Trask began to entertain the idea of turning their 400-acre, Saratoga Springs, New York estate into a working community of artists and writers. John Moody (1868 - 1958 was a US Financial analyst and investor Moody's Corporation ( is the holding company for Moody's Investors Service which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities Katrina Trask ( May 30, 1853 &ndash January 8, 1922) was an author and philanthropist Saratoga Springs is a City in Saratoga County, New York, USA. But Spencer Trask's fortune was seriously eroded during the Panic of 1907 and, when he died two years later, he hadn't made a full financial recovery. The Panic of 1907 also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a Financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the Stock market fell close to Following Mr. Trask's death, Mrs. Trask remarried Mr. Trask's friend and business partner, Mr. George Foster Peabody, and moved out of the mansion into a smaller house so funds could accumulate for what had become the Corporation of Yaddo. George Foster Peabody (July 27 1852 &ndash March 4 1938 was banker born in Columbus Georgia to George Henry Peabody and Elvira Canfield Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre (16 km² estate in Saratoga Springs New York. In 1926, four years after her death, the plan was put into operation and has continued ever since. Yaddo, the name of the estate, is said to have been coined by the Trask's small daughter Christina, who amused her father by her mispronunciation of the numerous dark spots on the lawn caused by the towering trees' shadows. Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre (16 km² estate in Saratoga Springs New York. [5]
The results of the Trasks' legacy have been historic. John Cheever once wrote that the "forty or so acres on which the principal buildings of Yaddo stand have seen more distinguished activity in the arts than any other piece of ground in the English-speaking community and perhaps the world. John Cheever ( May 27, 1912 &ndash June 18, 1982) was an American Novelist and Short story Writer " Collectively, artists who have worked at Yaddo have won 61 Pulitzer Prizes, 56 National Book Awards, 22 National Book Critics Circle Award, a Nobel Prize, and countless other honors. The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United States. The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC to promote the finest books and reviews published in The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Many books by Yaddo authors have been made into films. Visitors from Cheever's day include Milton Avery, James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, Aaron Copland, Philip Guston, Patricia Highsmith, Langston Hughes, Ted Hughes, Alfred Kazin, Ulysses Kay, Jacob Lawrence, Sylvia Plath, Katherine Anne Porter, Mario Puzo, Clyfford Still, and Virgil Thomson. Milton Avery ( March 7, 1885 &ndash January 3, 1965) was an American modern painter. James Baldwin may refer to James Baldwin (editor and author (1841&ndash1925 James Baldwin (writer (1924&ndash1987 WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Truman Capote (ˈtruːmən kəˈpoʊti ( 30 September, 1924, New Orleans Louisiana – 25 August, 1984, Los Angeles Aaron Copland (November 14 1900 &ndash December 2 1990 was an American Composer of concert and film music as well as an accomplished Pianist. Philip Guston ( June 27, 1913 &ndash June 7, 1980) was a notable painter and Printmaker in the New York School Patricia Highsmith ( January 19, 1921 - February 4, 1995) was an American Novelist known for her Psychological thrillers Langston Hughes (February 1 1902 &ndash May 22 1967 was an American Poet, Novelist Playwright, Short story writer and Columnist Edward James Hughes OM ( 17 August 1930 &ndash 28 October 1998) was an English Poet and children's Alfred Kazin ( June 5 1915 &ndash June 5 1998) was an American Writer and Literary critic, many of whose writings Ulysses KSimpson Kay ( January 7, 1917, Tucson, Arizona – May 20, 1995, Englewood, New Jersey) was Jacob Lawrence ( September 7, 1917 - June 9, 2000) was an African American painter; he was married to fellow artist Sylvia Plath (October 27 1932 &ndash February 11 1963 was an American Poet, Novelist and Short story Writer. Katherine Anne Porter ( 15 May 1890 – 18 September 1980) was a Pulitzer Prize -winning American Journalist, Mario Gianluigi Puzo ( October 15, 1920 &ndash July 2, 1999) was a two time Academy Award -winning Italian American Clyfford Still ( November 30, 1904 &ndash June 23, 1980) was an American painter, and one of the leading For the American author with a similar name see Virgil Thompson (author Virgil Thomson ( November 25, 1896 - September
The success of Yaddo encouraged Spencer and Katrina to later donate land for a working women's retreat center as well, known as the Wiawaka Holiday House. Wiawaka is a holiday house for women It has lake front property on Lake George, New York.
Supported the Arts, Education, and Humanitarian Causes
Mr. Trask was committed to civic duty, public service, and philanthropy.
Arts
Mr. Trask was dedicated to the arts. In his lifetime he was president of the National Arts Club[6], a patron and member of the Municipal Art Society of New York, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The National Arts Club is a private club founded in 1898 to "stimulate foster and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts" The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS is a nonprofit membership organization which advocates for excellence in Urban design, Urban planning, Contemporary The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, At the time of his death, Trask's wealth had been greatly diminished by his own generosity.
Education
Spencer Trask was a founder and chairman of the board of trustees for Teachers' College, the school of pedagogy of Columbia University[7]. Rankings According to US News & World Report, Teachers College Columbia University currently ranks as the #1 Graduate Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. He was also actively interested in the Kindergarten Association, and for many years was closely identified with General Theological Seminary. The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is located at 175 9th Avenue near 21st Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City [8]
Spencer Trask also founded a public lecture series at his alma mater, Princeton University in 1891 with a gift of $10,000, and supplemented by an additional $10,000 from his estate, "for the purpose of securing the services of eminent men to deliver public lectures before the University on subjects of special interest. Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. " Over the years, lecturers have included Niels Bohr on "The Structure of the Atom" (1923-1924); Arnold J. Toynbee on "Near Eastern Affairs" (1925-1926); T. S. Eliot on "The Bible and English Literature," (1932-1933); Bertrand Russell on "Mind and Matter" (1950-1951); and Margaret Mead on "Changing American Character" (1975-1976). Niels Henrik David Bohr (nels ˈb̥oɐ̯ˀ in Danish 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962 was a Danish Physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding This page is about the universal historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee for the economic historian Arnold Toynbee see this article. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian Margaret Mead ( December 16, 1901, Philadelphia &ndash November 15, 1978, New York City) was an American [9]
National Armenian Relief Committee
In the 1890s, Trask led what some have called 'the first international human rights movement in American history,' in response to the Armenian Genocide. In New York what began as a local committee to aid the Armenians, grew quickly into the National Armenian Relief Committee led by Mr. Spencer Trask. Its board included some of the most powerful men in the United States, including financier and philanthropist, Spencer Trask, Supreme Court Justice David Josiah Brewer, railroad executive Chauncy Depew, Wall Street banker Jacob Schiff, and church leaders Dr. David Josiah Brewer LLD ( January 20, 1837 &ndash March 28, 1910) was an American Jurist. Jacob Henry Schiff, born Jacob Hirsch Schiff ( January 10, 1847 &ndash September 25, 1920) was a German -born New York City Leonard Woolsey Bacon and the Reverend Fredrick D. Leonard Woolsey Bacon (1830-1907 was an American Clergyman born in New Haven, Conn Greene. The movement brought together Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, and Christians and Jews. The Relief Committee recruited Clara Barton to take Red Cross relief teams out of the country for the first time, to the Armenian provinces. Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25 1821 &ndash April 12 1912 was a pioneer American Teacher, Nurse, and Humanitarian. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated [10][11] The National Armenian Relief Committee provided literature and arranged for speakers for affiliated committees; Theodore Roosevelt, Ezra Pound, H.L. Mencken and William Jennings Bryan were among those who lent their voices. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T Ezra Weston Loomis Pound ( Hailey, Idaho Territory, United States October 30 1885 – Venice, Italy November 1 1972 was an American Expatriate For other persons of the same name see William Bryan and William Jennings. [12].
By the end of the year-long drive, Americans raised more than three hundred thousand dollars at a time when a loaf of bread cost a nickel. So deeply had Armenian Relief cut into the popular consciousness that in 1896, a Thanksgiving appeal was launched nationwide, and Americans from St. Paul to San Francisco to Boston gave thanks by sending money to Armenian widows and orphans of the massacres. Citizens of St. Paul boycotted buying turkey and gave their Thanksgiving food money to the cause. [13]
His Life and Death
Mr. Spencer Trask was born in 1844 to Alanson and Sarah (Marquand) Trask in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a direct descendant of Captain William Trask, a leader in the formation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it was an English settlement on the east coast of North America After graduating from Princeton University in 1866, Spencer Trask joined his uncle to form the investment firm Trask & Brown, which became Spencer Trask & Company in 1881. Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Trask became one of New York's leading citizens and one of the country's best known bankers. He was married in 1874 to Miss Katrina Nichols, a famous author of the time. Unfortunately, Mr. Trask's family was beset with misfortunes; his four children died within a single week, and Katrina Trask became an invalid as a result. Katrina Trask ( May 30, 1853 &ndash January 8, 1922) was an author and philanthropist In an automobile accident in Boston late in his life, the glass windshield injured Trask's eye so seriously that surgeons had to remove it to save the sight of her other eye. Mr. Trask died in a train accident on New Year's Eve in 1909. [14]
In commemoration of his life, Daniel Chester French was commissioned to create a statue for Spencer Trask. Daniel Chester French ( April 20 1850 &ndash October 7 1931) was an American sculptor. At a memorial service in the Saratoga city park, "The Spirit of Life" was unveiled by Katrina van Dyke (daughter of Dr. " The Spirit of Life " is a sculpture by American sculptor Daniel Chester French. Henry van Dyke, American Minister to the Netherlands), named after Mrs. Henry van Dyke (1852 – 1933 was an American author educator and clergyman Katrina Trask. The ceremony marked the first public appearance of the city's mayor (having recently moved from the classification of village to city), and was also attended by representatives of the State Administration of Albany. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status George Foster Peabody was the master of ceremonies, presenting the statue to the city; Dr. John Huston Finley, President of the University of the State of New York and head of the State Department of Education, was the speaker for the ceremony; and the artist, Daniel Chester French, was in attendance. John Huston Finley ( October 19, 1863 &ndash 1940 was born in Grand Ridge Il
References
- ^ "The National Cyclopedia of American Biography", volume XI, p. 444, James T. White & Company, 1901.
- ^ "New York State Men--Individual Library Edition with Biographic Studies, Character Portraits, and Autographs", p. 2, Hon. James H. Manning, The Albany Argus Art Press, 1913
- ^ "New York State Men--Individual Library Edition with Biographic Studies, Character Portraits, and Autographs", p. 2, Hon. James H. Manning, The Albany Argus Art Press, 1913
- ^ "New York Times", February 2, 1958
- ^ "The Times Record", Troy, NY, August 8, 1946
- ^ "The New York Times" January 23, 1908
- ^ "The New York Times" October 24, 1902
- ^ "New York State Men--Individual Library Edition with Biographic Studies, Character Portraits, and Autographs", p. 3, Hon. James H. Manning, The Albany Argus Art Press, 1913
- ^ Spencer Trask Lectures Series - Princeton University
- ^ "The Red Cross: A History of this Remarkable International Movement in the Interest of Humanity" by Clara Barton, Published 1898, American National Red Cross
- ^ Report of Miss Clara Barton, President and Treasurer of The American Red Cross
- ^ "American Philanthropy Abroad" by Merle Curti
- ^ "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response" By Peter Balakian, Harper Collins
- ^ "The Syracuse Herald", December 31, 1909
External links
- Spencer Trask & Company
- Spencer Trask Lecture Series - Princeton University
- Yaddo
- Katrina Trask
- George Foster Peabody
- Kevin Kimberlin
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