William A. Clark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William A. Clark
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| United States Senator from Montana |
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| In office March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1907 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas H. Carter |
| Succeeded by | Joseph M. Dixon |
| In office March 4, 1899 – May 15, 1900 |
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| Preceded by | Lee Mantle |
| Succeeded by | Paris Gibson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Andrews Clark
January 8, 1839 Connellsville, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 2, 1925 (aged 86) New York City, New York |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Katherine Louise Stauffer Anna Eugenia La Chapelle |
| Children | Charles Walker Clark William Andrews Clark Jr. Huguette M. Clark (see more) |
| Alma mater | Iowa Wesleyan College |
| Net worth | USD $150 million at the time of his death (About USD $2,138,125,867.42 today)(approximately 1/609th of US GNP) |
| Signature |  |
William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839 – March 2, 1925) was an American businessman and politician. He was involved in many different industries, including mining, banking, and railroads. He became one of the richest people in the United States during his lifetime.
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Life and Work
William Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Iowa in 1856. There, he worked as a teacher and studied law at Iowa Wesleyan College. In 1862, he decided to go west to become a miner. He worked in Colorado before heading to the new gold fields in Montana in 1863.
He settled in Bannack, Montana, which was the capital of Montana Territory. He started placer mining, which is a way of finding gold in riverbeds. Even though he didn't find a huge amount of gold, he used his earnings wisely. He became a trader, using mules to carry eggs and other supplies between Salt Lake City and the fast-growing towns in Montana. These towns were called "boomtowns" because they grew very quickly.
Clark then changed careers again and became a banker in Deer Lodge, Montana. When people couldn't pay back their loans, he took over their mining properties. This led him back into the mining business. He made a huge fortune from copper mining. He also owned small smelters (places where metal is melted to remove impurities), electric power companies, newspapers, and railroads. He built trolley lines around Butte and a major railroad from Salt Lake City, Utah to San Pedro and Los Angeles, California. He became known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, along with Marcus Daly and F. Augustus Heinze.
Between 1884 and 1888, Clark built a large 34-room house in Butte, Montana. It was decorated by Tiffany and had all the newest inventions of the time. This house is now a bed-and-breakfast and a museum called the Copper King Mansion. In 1899, Clark created Columbia Gardens for the children of Butte. It had beautiful flower gardens, a dance hall, an amusement park, a lake, and picnic areas. Later, he built an even bigger and more fancy 121-room mansion in New York City, called the William A. Clark House.
William Clark passed away on March 2, 1925. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.
Political Career
William Clark was the president of Montana's state constitutional conventions in 1884 and 1889. These meetings helped create the rules for Montana's government.
Clark really wanted to be a United States Senator. He used his newspaper, the Butte Miner, to help his political goals. Butte was one of the largest cities in the West back then. Clark became popular in Helena, Montana, because he supported it becoming the state capital instead of Anaconda.
Clark's dream of becoming a U.S. Senator led to some problems in 1899. There were concerns about how he won his election. At that time, U.S. Senators were chosen by state lawmakers, not by a direct vote of the people. The issues with his election helped lead to the 17th Amendment. This amendment changed the law so that U.S. Senators are now elected directly by the people. The U.S. Senate did not allow Clark to take his seat in 1899 because of these problems. However, he ran again later and was successful. He served one term as a Senator from 1901 to 1907.
When he died, Clark's fortune was estimated to be around $300 million. This made him one of the wealthiest Americans ever.
Family
William Clark was married two times. His first wife was Katherine Louise "Kate" Stauffer (1844–1893). They had seven children together:
- Mary Joaquina Clark (1870–1939)
- Charles Walker Clark (1871–1933)
- An unnamed son (1874)
- Jessie Clark (1875–1878)
- Katherine Louise Clark (1875–c. 1933)
- William Andrews Clark Jr. (1877–1934)
- Paul Francis Clark (1880–1896)
After Kate passed away in 1893, William married Anna Eugenia La Chapelle (1878–1963). They said they were married in France in 1901. Anna was 23 and William was 62. They had two children:
- Louise Amelia Andrée Clark (1902–1919)
- Huguette Marcelle Clark (1906–2011)
William Clark gave 135 acres of land to the Girl Scouts. He did this to honor his daughter, Louise Amelia Andrée, who died at age 16 from meningitis. She had been very happy there. The Girl Scout camp in Briarcliff Manor was named Camp Andree Clark.
William Andrews Clark Jr.
Clark's son, William Andrews Clark Jr., started the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra in 1919. He also gave his large collection of rare books and old writings to the University of California, Los Angeles. This collection is now part of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. It focuses on English literature and history from 1641 to 1800.
Huguette Marcelle Clark
Huguette (pronounced oo-GETT) was born in Paris, France in 1906. She was William Clark's youngest child with his second wife, Anna. Huguette was known for living a very private life. She married once but divorced less than a year later. She lived in three huge apartments in New York City, which had a total of 42 rooms and overlooked Central Park. In 1991, she moved out of her apartment and lived in hospitals in New York City for the rest of her life.
Huguette passed away on May 24, 2011, at the age of 104. Her amazing collection of art and old items was sold at auction in 2014.
Walter Clark
William Clark's nephew, Walter Miller Clark, was a passenger on the RMS Titanic. He was among the 1,514 people who died when the ship hit an iceberg on April 15, 1912. His wife, Virginia, survived and was rescued by another ship, the RMS Carpathia. Some of Walter Clark's personal items, like shaving soap and cuff links, were found during an underwater trip to the Titanic's wreck site in 1994.
Legacy
Clark gave his large art collection to the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., after he died. This greatly improved the museum's collection of European and American art. The Clark donation also paid for a new part of the Corcoran museum, which is called the Clark Wing.
The city of Las Vegas was started as a place for trains to stop and get supplies for Clark's San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. He divided 110 acres of land into 1200 lots. Some of these lots, on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, sold for as much as $1750. The area around Las Vegas was named Clark County, Nevada, in his honor.
Clarkdale, Arizona
Clarkdale, Arizona, was named after William Clark. This town was where the smelting operations for Clark's mines in nearby Jerome, Arizona took place. The town has the historic Clark Mansion, which was badly damaged by fire in 2010. Clarkdale is also home to the Verde Canyon Railroad, a wilderness train ride that follows a historic route Clark built in 1911. It also has the Copper Art Museum.
See also
In Spanish: William A. Clark para niños
