Edward C. Clark or Edward S. Clark (December 19, 1811 – October 14, 1882) was a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, along with his business partner of Isaac Merritt Singer. Together they began investing in real estate in the 1870s and built The Dakota

The Dakota

The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is a co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City...

, an apartment house at 72nd Street and Central Park West in 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...

, which was completed in 1884 and was where John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

 was shot.

In 1835 he married Caroline Jordan (1815–1874) and had as their child: Alfred Corning Clark

Alfred Corning Clark

-Biography:He was born on November 14, 1844 to Edward Clark, a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He married and had as his children: Edward Severin Clark, Robert Sterling Clark, Frederick Ambrose Clark and Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr....

. Alfred was the father of: Stephen Carlton Clark

Stephen Carlton Clark

Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr. DSM, was an American art collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.-Biography:...

 and Edward Severin Clark

Edward Severin Clark

Edward Severin Clark , along with his brother Stephen Carlton Clark, built a number of large buildings in Cooperstown, New York, including the Otesaga Hotel and the Alfred Corning Clark Gymnasium. He was one of four grandsons of Edward Clark, one of the founders of the Singer Sewing Machine...

.

In 1856 he created the hire-purchase plan, which was the first American installment plan.