L. Hamilton McCormick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leander Hamilton McCormick
About 1896
Born	(1859-05-27)May 27, 1859 Chicago
Died	February 2, 1934(1934-02-02) (aged 74)
Education	Phillips Academy Columbia Law School
Alma mater	Amherst College
Spouse(s)	Constance Plummer ​ ​ (m. 1887; his death 1934)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Leander J. McCormick Henrietta Hamilton McCormick

Leander Hamilton McCormick (born May 27, 1859 – died February 2, 1934) was an American who did many interesting things. He was an author, an inventor, an art collector, and even a sculptor! He came from a family known for inventing.

Early Life and Clever Ideas

Leander Hamilton McCormick was born in Chicago on May 27, 1859. He was the youngest of four children. His parents were Henrietta Hamilton McCormick and Leander J. McCormick.

His family was famous for inventing. His grandfather, Robert McCormick, created special machines for farming in Virginia. Leander's father, Leander J. McCormick, moved to Chicago in 1848. He worked with his brothers, Cyrus and William. Together, they built a huge company that later became International Harvester. This company made farm equipment.

Leander Hamilton McCormick was very clever from a young age. When he was just fourteen, he invented a door lock that was very hard to pick. Later, while he was in college, he came up with two more inventions. He designed automatic couplers for railroad cars. He also created a special ballot box to help count votes and prevent cheating during elections.

He went to school at Phillips Academy in Andover. Then he studied at Amherst College, finishing in 1881. He was also a good boxer in his youth. He helped start a student group called the Beta Theta Pi Society at Amherst.

Travels and Amazing Collections

After college, Leander lived in New York City for several years. He studied law at Columbia Law School. He also learned about architecture, which is the art of designing buildings. He spent time studying something called Characterology. This was an old idea about understanding people's personalities.

After his studies, he traveled all over the world. He visited the United States, Europe, northern Africa, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. He even went to the Bermudas.

While living in London for seventeen years after he got married, he became a big collector. He gathered many beautiful things. These included paintings, old suits of armor, ancient pottery, old ivory carvings, and old glass items. His art collection was quite large. It had about 200 paintings from Italian, early English, and old Dutch artists.

A Creative Inventor

Leander McCormick was a very busy inventor. People say he came up with over a hundred inventions! He even got many patents for his ideas. Because he inherited a lot of money, he didn't need to work for a living. This allowed him to spend his time inventing.

Some of his interesting inventions included:

• An aerial torpedo (a type of flying weapon).
• Motorcycles.
• Special eyeglasses that let you see behind you while driving.
• A watch that showed the time all over the world.
• An electric rotary brush and an electric rotary razor.
• A device to find ships in thick fog at sea.
• A boat designed not to rock much in rough water.
• A special four-wheeled vehicle to make bumpy roads feel smoother.
• A hydroplane for skimming quickly over water.
• An ambulance designed to give a smooth ride to the person inside.
• An audiophone for listening in theaters.
• A water cycle (like a bicycle for water).
• A plan to build a bridge across the English Channel.
• Improvements for war tanks at the end of World War I.

During World War I, he also helped the government in Washington, DC. He gave advice on money, military, and navy matters.

Artistic Sculptures

Leander McCormick was also a talented sculptor. He created several important statues. These included a three-quarter life-sized statue called "Sapho." He also made a sculpture named "Victory" and another one called "The Birth of a Spirit."

Books He Wrote

He wrote two books about Characterology. These were Characterology: an exact science (1920) and Student's Course in Characterology: an exact science in fifteen lessons (1921). These books shared his ideas about understanding people. Some of his older ideas are now considered outdated and not accepted today.

Family Life

McCormick's son, Alister, in 1917.

In 1886, while traveling in Europe, Leander met Constance Plummer (1865–1938). She was from Canterbury, England. They got married on February 15, 1887.

Leander and Constance had three sons:

• Leander J. McCormick (1888–1964).
• Edward Hamilton McCormick (born 1889).
• Alister Hamilton McCormick (born 1891).

Leander Hamilton McCormick passed away on February 2, 1934. He was buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery in Miami, Florida. He left money in a special fund for his wife and each of his three sons.

Legacy

Leander Hamilton McCormick's old mansion is still standing in Chicago. It is located at 100 E. Ontario Street. Since 1974, it has been home to a restaurant called Lawry's The Prime Rib. The mansion is in the River North area, very close to the famous Michigan Avenue shopping district.