Childs Frick
Encyclopedia
Childs Frick was an American
vertebrate paleontologist
.
He was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History
and a major benefactor of its Department of Paleontology, which in 1916 began a long partnership with him. He established its Frick Laboratory. He also made many expeditions to the American West, and his efforts helped to shape an understanding of the evolution of North American camels. Frick, by employing many field workers, accumulated over 200,000 fossil mammals, which later were donated to the Museum.
Childs Frick was born in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
the son of the coke
and steel
magnate Henry Clay Frick
(1849–1919) and Adelaide Howard Childs. He grew up at the family's Pittsburgh estate, Clayton
, although the family later moved in 1905 to New York City
. He attended Shady Side Academy
in Pittsburgh and graduated from Princeton University
in 1905.
Childs married Frances Shoemaker Dixon (1892–1958) of Baltimore, Maryland in 1913. The couple had four children: Adelaide, Frances, Martha Howard (Marsi), and Henry Clay II
. For a wedding gift Childs' father purchased a Georgian mansion in Roslyn, New York
on land that originally belonged to the poet William Cullen Bryant
. The couple lived at the estate, dubbed "Clayton" after his childhood home, for more than 50 years.
Henry Clay Frick famously played favorites with his two surviving children, Childs and Helen Clay Frick
(1888–1984). After the reading of their father's will, which favored Helen, the two siblings were estranged the rest of their lives.
Childs Frick died of a heart attack at age 81 in Roslyn. He is interred alongside his wife and parents in the Frick family plot at Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery
.
In 1969 Clayton
, his Roslyn Harbor
estate, was purchased by Nassau County
for the purpose of conversion into the Nassau County Museum of Art
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
vertebrate paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
.
He was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
and a major benefactor of its Department of Paleontology, which in 1916 began a long partnership with him. He established its Frick Laboratory. He also made many expeditions to the American West, and his efforts helped to shape an understanding of the evolution of North American camels. Frick, by employing many field workers, accumulated over 200,000 fossil mammals, which later were donated to the Museum.
Childs Frick was born in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
the son of the coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
and steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
magnate Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
(1849–1919) and Adelaide Howard Childs. He grew up at the family's Pittsburgh estate, Clayton
Frick Art & Historical Center
The Frick Art & Historical Center is a cluster of museums and historical buildings located at 7227 Reynolds Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States and collectively known as "Clayton"...
, although the family later moved in 1905 to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He attended Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy is a private, secular coeducational PK-12 preparatory school located on three campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, established in 1883.- Campuses :Shady Side Academy has three campuses in Pittsburgh....
in Pittsburgh and graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1905.
Childs married Frances Shoemaker Dixon (1892–1958) of Baltimore, Maryland in 1913. The couple had four children: Adelaide, Frances, Martha Howard (Marsi), and Henry Clay II
Henry Clay Frick II
Henry Clay Frick II was an American physician and professor of medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons....
. For a wedding gift Childs' father purchased a Georgian mansion in Roslyn, New York
Roslyn, New York
Roslyn is a village in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 2,770...
on land that originally belonged to the poet William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
. The couple lived at the estate, dubbed "Clayton" after his childhood home, for more than 50 years.
Henry Clay Frick famously played favorites with his two surviving children, Childs and Helen Clay Frick
Helen Clay Frick
Helen Clay Frick was an American philanthropist.She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the third child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick and Adelaide Howard Childs . She grew up at the family's Pittsburgh estate, Clayton, although the family later moved to New York City in 1905...
(1888–1984). After the reading of their father's will, which favored Helen, the two siblings were estranged the rest of their lives.
Childs Frick died of a heart attack at age 81 in Roslyn. He is interred alongside his wife and parents in the Frick family plot at Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery is a historic, nonsectarian burial ground in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Squirrel Hill and is bordered by both Frick Park and the neighborhood of Point Breeze....
.
In 1969 Clayton
Cedarmere-Clayton Estates
The Cedarmere-Clayton Estates are located in Roslyn Harbor, New York, United States, listed jointly on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Cedarmere, the smaller of the two, is William Cullen Bryant's estate, located on the west side of Bryant Avenue overlooking Hempstead Harbor, now...
, his Roslyn Harbor
Roslyn Harbor, New York
Roslyn Harbor is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 1,051 at the 2010 census. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the village of Roslyn....
estate, was purchased by Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
for the purpose of conversion into the Nassau County Museum of Art
Nassau County Museum of Art
The Nassau County Museum of Art is located 20 miles east of New York City on the former Frick Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors and philanthropists Arnold & Joan Saltzman, is a three-story...
.