Albert Cameron Burrage (November 21, 1859 – June 29, 1931), known as A. C. Burrage, was an

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, attorney,

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and philanthropist from the United States.

Birth

Albert Burrage was born on November 21, 1859, in

Ashburnham, Massachusetts Ashburnham () is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 6,315. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school. Ashburnham contains the census-designated place ...

. His parents were George Sanderson and Aurelia Chamberlin Burrage. He moved to California with his parents when quite young and remained there until he was 18 years old.

Early career

After a short period of study in Europe he enrolled in

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1879, graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1883. He went on to the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, graduating the next year and was admitted to the Massachusetts

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in September 1884. He became

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

of the Brookline Gas Light Company in 1892. In this position he earned an $800,000 fee for helping the company bring service to Boston. He was elected president of the Boston, South Boston, Roxbury and Dorchester Gas Light Companies.

Copper mining

He resigned his positions in gas light companies in 1898 to enter the copper mining industry. He organized the Amalgamated Copper Company and was director until its dissolution. Burrage was also one of the organizers of the Chile Exploration Company and the Chile Copper Company. The development of new processes for treating low-grade copper ores was one of his industrial interests. He was called the "Copper King".

Public service

Burrage was a member of the Boston Common Council in 1892. He served on the Boston Transit Commission that was responsible for building the Boston subway.

Mineralogy

Burrage purchased the gold collection of Georges de la Bouglise at an auction in Paris in 1911. He later bequeathed his assemblage of gold ores to the Harvard Mineralogical Museum.

Horticulture

Burrage was widely known as a cultivator of rare

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

. A 1932 memorial in ''The Bulletin of the American Orchid Society'' stated, "No person has done more to encourage the study and cultivation of Orchids than Mr. Burrage." The

Massachusetts Horticultural Society The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to Mass Hort or MHS, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusettsbr>It describes itself as the oldest formally organized horticultural institution in the United States ...

awarded him the George R. White Medal of Honor in 1922 for establishing an outstanding collection of exotic orchids in

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Sho ...

. In 1925 he received the Lindley Medal from the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

of England for an exhibition of

Cypripedium ''Cypripedium'' is a genus of 58 species and nothospecies of hardy Orchidaceae, orchids; it is one of five genera that together compose the subfamily of lady's slipper orchids (Cypripedioideae). They are widespread across much of the Northern He ...

s displayed in a natural setting at the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show,Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural So ...

in London. He was elected president of the

in 1921 and became founding president of the

American Orchid Society The American Orchid Society (AOS) is a horticultural society for education, conservation, and research of orchids. It was founded in 1921, and has an international membership. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It has been called an "indus ...

(AOS) the same year. He served as president of the AOS for eight years until his health declined. He was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society of England and a member of the Horticultural Society of New York, the

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is a nonprofit organization that promotes horticulture-related events and community activities. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of 2021, PHS has more than 13,000 members. PHS wa ...

and The Garden Club of America. The

nothogenus In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. The ''International Co ...

× ''Burrageara'' of the orchid family is named for Albert Burrage.

Properties and philanthropy

Burrage's 28 room mansion on Commonwealth Avenue in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts was built in 1899 at a cost of . It was converted to medical offices in 1948. His summer residence the '' Needles'' in

Hanson, Massachusetts Hanson is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Part of Greater Boston, Hanson is located 20 miles (32 km) south of Boston and is one of the inland towns of the South Shore. The population was 10,639 at the 2020 census ...

was completely destroyed by fire on May 27, 1907. Burrage, his wife Alice, their four children, Alice's sister and the families six servants all escaped the burning residence. The loss was estimated at . The Needles was rebuilt soon after and additional buildings were added. Burrage sold the Needles to the

Camp Fire Girls Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is now gender-inclusive, and its p ...

in 1922. In 1901 Burrage built a holiday home in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is located a ...

- the Burrage Mansion - to escape East Coast winters and entertain fellow aristocrats. He was known in Boston for his philanthropy.

Published works

Personal life

On November 10, 1885, he married Alice Hathaway Haskell of

, Massachusetts. Their children were Albert Cameron Burrage Jr., Mrs. Harold L. Chalifoux and Russell Burrage. With his wife he gave a dinner party for the

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

William Jardine and his wife, who were in town for an orchid show, at the

St. Regis Hotel St. Regis Hotels & Resorts () is an American multinational luxury hotel chain, owned and managed by Marriott International. History Origins In 1904, John Jacob Astor built the St. Regis New York as a sister property to his part-owned Waldor ...

. In 1931 he gave a coming out party for his granddaughter Katherine "Kitty" Lee Burrage that cost . The Boston Evening Clinic, also known as the Burrage House located on 314 Commonwealth Avenue was designated a

Boston Landmark A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New Engla ...

through the

Boston Landmarks Commission The Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) is the historic preservation agency for the City of Boston. The commission was created by state legislation in 1975. History Urban renewal in the United States started with the Housing Act of 1949, part of Pres ...

in 2003.

Death

He died on June 29, 1931, of heart disease at West Manchester, Massachusetts. Although he had been in poor health for a year he was able to attend the wedding of his granddaughter Katherine Lee Burrage to Forrester A. Clark after hosting a reception for the wedding party on his yacht ''Aztec'' in the days before his death. He died at his summer home ''Sea Home'' with his wife at his side.

References

External links

Albert Burrage and his rare golds
at

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

Burrage Mansion: Owners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrage, Albert 1859 births 1931 deaths Harvard Law School alumni People from Ashburnham, Massachusetts Boston Common Council members