William Andrews Clark Jr. (March 29, 1877 – June 14, 1934) was a

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 ...

-based philanthropist and the youngest surviving son of copper baron and U.S. Senator

William Andrews Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1 ...

Sr. and his first wife, Katherine.

Early life

William Andrews Clark Jr. was born on March 29, 1877, in

Deer Lodge, Montana Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 census. Description The city is perhaps best known as the home of the Montana State Prison, a major local employer. ...

. His father was

William A. Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1 ...

and his mother was Katherine Louise Stauffer. He was educated in France and in the New York area and graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

with a bachelor's degree in law in 1899.

Career and hobbies

Clark was a partner in the law firm Clark & Roote in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to th ...

. He also served on the boards of several of his father's mining and industrial concerns.

Book collection

In the mid-1910s, he began collecting antiquarian and fine press books as a serious hobby (he had dabbled in book buying previous to this). In 1919, he hired bibliographer Robert E. Cowan to consult on book-buying purchases and to help with the compilation of a printed library catalog. The first volume of this was printed in 1920 by San Francisco printer John Henry Nash.

Philanthropy

He founded the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, which debuted in the Trinity Auditorium in 1919, and bequeathed his library of rare books and manuscripts, the

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (Clark Library), an affiliated library of the University of California, Los Angeles, holds rare books and manuscripts with particular strengths in English literature and history (1641–1800), Osca ...

, to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

upon his death in 1934. He also helped to fund the construction of the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its disti ...

Personal life

In 1902, he married Mabel Duffield Foster (1880–1903), who died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

following the birth of their son: * William Andrews Clark III ("Tertius") (1902–1932), who died in a plane crash in

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in 1932. In 1907, he married Alice McManus (1883–1916), a native Nevadan, and they moved their permanent home to Los Angeles in the early 1910s (

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acros ...

is named for his father). Their house at Adams Boulevard and Cimarron Street occupied the grounds that the Clark Library still stands on today. Clark also had romantic relationships with men. Notable among his lovers was Harrison Post, who co-transcribed Clark's collection of Oscar Wilde's letters to Lord Alfred Douglas. Clark also put Post in charge of the interior decoration of the Clark Library. According to library staff, the thirteen naked men painted on the library's ornate ceiling all have Post's face. Post lived in a mansion across from Clark's on Cimarron Street and inherited a substantial trust fund on Clark's death.

Death

He died on June 14, 1934, at Salmon Lake, Montana. He is entombed in the family mausoleum which he built on the island in Sylvan Lake at the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Ang ...

. Both of his wives and his son are also in the mausoleum.Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, William Andrews Jr. Clark, William Andrews Jr. Clark, William Andrews Jr. American book and manuscript collectors Clark Jr., William Andrews Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery People from Deer Lodge, Montana University of Virginia alumni People from Butte, Montana William Andrews Jr. American philanthropists American LGBT businesspeople