Thomas Barbour Lathrop (January 28, 1847 – May 17, 1927) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and world traveler.

Early life

He was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

to Jedediah Hyde Lathrop, a descendant of the Lathrop family of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and Mariana Bryan of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. His older brother was Bryan Lathrop and younger sister was Florence Lathrop. At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Lathrop's father, an abolitionist, moved the family to Chicago. Lathrop spent two years at a New York City boarding school before being sent to Germany to attend the University of Bonn. Upon his return, he attended

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 in 1869. Lathrop was a member of the Barbour family on his mother's side.

Career

Lathrop rebelled against his father's insistence that he practice law and was cut off from any further financial assistance. He moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in the early 1870s and worked as a reporter for The San Francisco Morning Call. Shortly after its founding in 1879, Lathrop became one of the earliest members of the Bohemian Club where he was well known for his conversational brilliance and keen wit. Lathrop considered the Bohemian Club in San Francisco his home for the rest of his life. Lathrop's father died in 1887 and left him an equal share in the family fortune. Almost overnight, he became a very wealthy man. He left his job as a reporter and became a philanthropist and world traveler. Lathrop traveled around the world many times. In 1893, on a steamship to Naples, Italy, Lathrop met a young biologist named David Fairchild, whom he persuaded to become a plant explorer. He financed Fairchild and accompanied him on his early travels in search of plants for introduction into the United States. Lathrop's travels with Fairchild are described in detail in Fairchild's autobiography and Stoneman Douglas' book, ''Adventures in a Green World.'' For his contributions to American horticulture and botany, he was awarded the Frank N. Meyer Memorial Medal in 1920. He was the first recipient of the Meyer Medal which is given in recognition of outstanding services to U.S. plant introduction. The Barbour Lathrop Trail at Barro Colorado Island in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

is named for him in recognition of his early support of the tropical research station.

Later life

When he became too old to travel, Lathrop spent the winters with the Fairchild Family in Coconut Grove, Florida. Lathrop died on May 17, 1927, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he had stopped to stay at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel on his annual trip to

Early life

Career

Later life

References

Further reading