Reuben Rickard (August 20, 1841 – February 24, 1896) was a mining engineer He married Mary Elizabeth Humphreys October 3, 1863. They had six children, three of whom died young. who served as President of the Town Board of Trustees in Berkeley, California from 1891 to 1893, and again for about one month during 1895. Rickard was born on August 20, 1841, in England. Rickard was hired by John Taylor and Sons of London to oversee their mining and metallurgical operations in

Pontgibaud, France Pontgibaud () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme départment A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. ...

in the 1860s. In 1875, the Rickard family emigrated to the United States as Reuben had been hired to manage the operations of the Richmond Mining Company in Eureka, Nevada. He worked there six years before taking on another job inspecting mines for English investors throughout the western U.S. and Mexico. The family finally settled in Berkeley, California on July 24, 1882. Reuben's wife died of tuberculosis on March 28, 1895, in

Central City, Colorado The historic City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is a home rule municipality located in Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, Colorado, United States. Central City is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County. ...

. Reuben Rickard died February 24, 1896, of acute diarrhoea on board the steamer Bothwell Castle which was bound from Geraldton to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

where he was inspecting a mining project. Reuben was survived by three children, Thomas, Edgar and Leontine.

Thomas Rickard Thomas Rickard (1866–1911) was a mining engineer, an early resident of Berkeley, California, and served as the last President of the Town Board of Trustees from 1903 to 1909, before the new city charter went into effect, creating the office o ...

also served as President of the Town Board of Trustees from 1903 to 1909.

Edgar Rickard Edgar Rickard (January 17, 1874 – January 21, 1951) was a mining engineer and lifelong confidant of U.S. President Herbert Hoover. Biography Family He was the son of mining engineer Reuben Rickard, and the brother of Thomas Rickard Thomas ...

was a close lifelong friend of President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

. Leontine Rickard married William Bowditch Fisher on March 11, 1896, in Berkeley. Reuben had a brother Alfred Rickard who was also a mining engineer based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, and a nephew

Thomas Arthur Rickard T. A. Rickard (1864 – 1953), formally known as ''Thomas Arthur Rickard'' was born on 29 August 1864 in Italy. Rickard's parents were British, and he became a mining engineer practising in the United States, Europe and Australia. He was also ...

who was a prominent writer on the subject of mining.

References

American mining engineers Mayors of Berkeley, California 1841 births 1896 deaths British emigrants to the United States 19th-century American politicians Engineers from California {{California-mayor-stub