Julian de Cordova (January 2, 1851 – November 23, 1945) was an American businessman and art collector. He bought the Union Glass Company in 1893, and was its president until its 1924 closure. He donated the land on which the

DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the southern shore of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. It was established in 1950, and is the largest park of its k ...

now stands in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base who live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWe ...

Career

de Cordova became a successful tea broker, wholesale merchant and investor. He lost his fortune in the financial panic of 1884, but managed to build it back up again. In 1893, he bought the Union Glass Company in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. He was its president until 1924, when it closed.

Personal life

Julian de Cordova was born in 1851, to Raphael Joshua de Cordova, a Jamaican merchant, and Fanny Blume Nathan, an Englishwoman. They were wed three years earlier. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

between 1880 and 1882. In 1876, de Cordova married Mary Elizabeth Dana, with whom he had one child: Julian Dana de Cordova, who was born on Christmas Day 1877. The family summered in

, where in 1910 they remodeled their home of twenty-seven years to resemble a European castle. In 1930, de Cordova donated his home and of land to the Town of Lincoln on the condition that a museum be founded upon his death. Although his collection of paintings was substantial, they were not altogether valuable. Their sale did help fund today's

, however. de Cordova's cousin was

Rudolph de Cordova Rudolph de Cordova (10 June 1859 – 11 January 1941) was a Jamaican-born British writer, screenwriter and actor. Cordova was born in Kingston, the son of Altamont de Cordova, a prominent merchant, and Katherine Lewis. He went to London to ...

, the Jamaican-born British writer and actor.

Death

de Cordova died at Ring Sanatorium in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

, in 1945, aged 94. He had been ill for some time. He was interred in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, alongside his wife, who preceded him in death by twenty-three years, and son, who died the year after his mother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Cordova, Julian 1851 births 1945 deaths Businesspeople from New York City People from Lincoln, Massachusetts American Jews Harvard University alumni Businesspeople from Massachusetts