Clarence Munroe Clark (August 27, 1859 – June 29, 1937) was an American financier who helped develop electric light, power, and streetcar companies, as well as a noted

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player.

Biography

Born in the Germantown section of

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, he was part of a distinguished family from Philadelphia. He graduated at age 19 from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1878. In 1881, he became the first secretary of the

United States Lawn Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tenn ...

. That same year, he won the first doubles tournament in the U.S. National Championships (later called the U.S. Open), playing with

Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consulting, management consultants. In 190 ...

, after defeating first the favored

Richard Sears Richard Sears may refer to: *Richard Warren Sears (1863–1914), founder of Sears, Roebuck and Co. * Richard Sears (pilgrim) (1595–1676), early settler of Yarmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts *Richard Sears (tennis) Richard Dudley Sears (October ...

James Dwight James Dwight (July 14, 1852, France – July 13, 1917) was an American tennis player who was known as the "Founding Father of American Tennis". Biography Dwight won the first recorded tournament in the U.S. (and probably in the world, before th ...

, and in the final round,

Alexander Van Rensselaer Alexander Van Rensselaer (October 1, 1850 – July 18, 1933) was an American philanthropist, sportsman and patron of Princeton University. A member of a prominent Philadelphia family, he played both tennis and cricket at high levels. Early life ...

Arthur Newbold Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

. In

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

, he reached the final of the championships, where he lost to reigning champion Sears in straight sets. Clark also reached the semifinals in 1884. He married the sister of his doubles partner, Taylor, who would go on to a noted career as an engineer and

organizational theorist An organization or organisation ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is an entity—such as a company, or corporation or an institution (formal organization), or an association—comprising one or more people and having a par ...

. In 1900, Clark became a partner in his family's firm, E. W. Clark & Co., placed in charge of public utility investments. "He was a pioneer in the development of electric light, electric power, and electric street railway companies," according to his obituary in the ''New York Times.'' At various times, he was a president of the Nashville Railway and Light Company, the

Tennessee Electric Power Company The Chattanooga and Tennessee Electric Power Company was formed in 1905 by Josephus C. Guild, Charles E. James and Anthony N. Brady to produce hydroelectric power and improve navigation on the Tennessee River. Josephus Guild, a young engineer fr ...

, the Portland (Ore.) Electric Power Company, as well as a director or other official of many more companies. Clark endowed a professorship in Mountain Agriculture at

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

. He died on June 29, 1937, at the age of 77, at his home, Cedron, in

Germantown, Philadelphia Germantown () is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Palatines, Palatine, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough (Pennsylvania), borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, whi ...

. He was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983, joining his brother Joseph Clark, who was inducted in 1955. Clark shares a burial plot in the River section of

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is in size, and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in nearby Philadelphia. ...

Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Rou ...

, PA, with his brother-in-law Frederick Winslow Taylor.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

References

External links

*
Image of Clark's house
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Clarence 1859 births 1937 deaths 19th-century American sportsmen 19th-century male tennis players American male tennis players Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery University of Pennsylvania alumni International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from Philadelphia United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Clark banking family