Robert Maclay Widney (December 23, 1838 – November 14, 1929) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, judge, and one of the founders of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC).

History

He was born in

Piqua, Ohio Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded as the village of Washington in ...

. He was the older brother of Joseph Widney, second president of USC; and the nephew of Robert Samuel Maclay, a pioneer missionary to China; and

Charles Maclay Charles Maclay (November 9, 1822 – July 19, 1890) was a California state senator and is known for his act of purchasing a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho. Maclay displaced and, the tribe argues, ...

, later a state senator for California. Widney left Ohio in September 1855 and spent two years hunting and trapping on the Great Plains and in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

Los Angeles

Widney arrived in California in September 1857. He studied at the

University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

(then located in Santa Clara) from 1858 to 1862. He was admitted to the bar in 1865, and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 1867. In 1871, he was named a judge of the Court of California for Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. He was a founder of the

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is Southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A. County, more than 1,400 member companies and more than 722,430 employ ...

(established in 1873). He was a member of the 19th century 'Lincoln' Republican Party. In 1874 Widney began the first successful public rail transit company in Los Angeles, building a horse drawn trolly line between Los Angeles Plaza and 6th Street at Pearl Street (present day

Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Driv ...

in Downtown Los Angeles).

University of Southern California

Los Angeles was still a growing frontier town in the early 1870s, when a group of public-spirited citizens led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney first saw the need and imagined establishing a university in the city. It took nearly a decade for this vision to become a reality, but in 1879 Widney formed a board of trustees and on July 29, 1879, secured a donation of 308 lots of undeveloped land in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

from three prominent members of the community — Ozro W. Childs, a Protestant Los Angeles horticulturist and merchant; former California governor

John G. Downey John Gately Downey (June 24, 1827 – March 1, 1894) was an Irish-American politician and the List of Governors of California, seventh governor of California from January 14, 1860, to January 10, 1862. Until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger ...

, an Irish-Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and

Isaias W. Hellman Isaias Wolf Hellman (October 3, 1842 – April 9, 1920) was a German-born American banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California. Early life Hellman was born in Reckendorf, Bavaria on October 3, 1842. ...

, a German-Jewish Los Angeles philanthropist and banker/founder of

Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles Farmers and Merchants Bank (F&M) is a historic lending institution (1871−1952) based in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is known both for its architecture and its pivotal role in the economic development of early Los Angeles. Other, non- ...

. The gift provided land for a campus as well as a source of endowment, the seeds of financial support for the nascent institution. On August 29, 2014, a statue of Judge Robert Maclay Widney was unveiled by USC President C. L. Max Nikias before USC Trustees, senior leadership, and members of the USC community, including descendants of the founder. The bronze monument, sculpted by Christopher Slatoff, stands on campus at the entrance of the Widney Alumni House.

Death

Robert M. Widney died on November 14, 1929 in Los Angeles. He was interred at

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown. It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, o ...

Central Los Angeles __NOTOC__ Central Los Angeles is the historic urban region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Geography The City of Los Angeles The Los Angeles Department of City Planning divides the city into Area Planning Commission (APC) areas, each fu ...

References

External links

L.A. Public Library biography file for Robert M.Widney (PDF–1.4MB) West Adams Historical Society: Biographical sketch of Robert M. Widney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widney, Robert Maclay California state court judges Businesspeople from Los Angeles Lawyers from Los Angeles 1838 births 1929 deaths American railway entrepreneurs American railroad pioneers University of Southern California people Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery California Republicans Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles people McGeorge School of Law alumni People from Piqua, Ohio 19th century in Los Angeles Maclay family University and college founders