William Rockhill Nelson
Encyclopedia
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
.
Early life
He was born in Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
. His father Isaac De Groff owned the Sentinel which became the (Fort Wayne News Sentinel) and had a farm called “Elm’s Park.” His mother's maiden name was "Rockhill."
Nelson, as a 15-year-old attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
(which accepted high school students) at the time for two years which he described as "Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
for bad boys." Notre Dame was reported to have asked that he not return.
He was admitted to the bar in 1862 and was a campaign manager for Democratic Presidential nominee Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
. Tilden told him:
- While it is a great thing to lead armies, it is a greater thing to lead the minds of men
Nelson attempted to run a store in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
but it failed. The southern sojourn was to earn him the nickname “The Colonel” even though he never served in the military. William Allen White said later:
- Not that he was ever a colonel of anything...He was just coloneliferous.
Newspapers
Nelson along with Samuel Morss formally took over the Sentinel in 1879. In 1880 they moved to Kansas City and started the Star. At the time there were three daily competitors – the Evening Mail, The Kansas City TimesKansas City Times
The Kansas City Times was a morning newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, that was published from 1867 to 1990.The morning Kansas City Times, under ownership of afternoon The Kansas City Star, won two Pulitzer Prizes and was actually bigger than its parent when its name was changed to the...
and the Kansas City Journal. Nelson took over sole ownership of the paper within a few months.
Nelson's business strategy called for cheap advance subscriptions and an intention to be “absolutely independent in politics, aiming to deal by all men and all parties with impartiality and fearlessness.”
He purchased the Kansas City Evening Mail (and its Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
franchise) in 1882 and started the Weekly Kansas City Star in 1890 and the Sunday Kansas City Star in 1894.
Nelson had portraits of Tilden, Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
and Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
in his office and was a crusading editor. Roosevelt was to stay with Nelson at Oak Hall.
Legendary exploits
Among his most famous crusades was a push for Kansas City’s George KesslerGeorge Kessler
George Edward Kessler was a German American pioneer city planner and landscape architect.Over the course of his forty-one year career, George E. Kessler completed over 200 projects and prepared plans for 26 communities, 26 park and boulevard systems, 49 parks, 46 estates & residents, and 26 schools...
-designed park and boulevard system and the 1900 “Kansas City Spirit” to build Convention Hall
Convention Hall
Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention.It was designed by Frederick E...
in 90 days in order to host the 1900 Democratic National Convention
1900 Democratic National Convention
The 1900 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place the week of July 4, 1900 at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri....
after the original (and new) convention hall had burned in April 1900.
Nelson bought the Times in 1901 putting “The Morning Kansas City Star” on it.
Nelson was described:
- From the bulbous torso, with its fawn-colored vest, black coat and short thick arms, a collar suddenly expanded. It was like no other collar ever made; it widened from the neckband to take in a steadily heavier neck, and almost triple chin, and folds which rolled down at the base of his skull. His face was square, his mouth a wide, firm indenture; his chin overcame those folds beneath and jutted like Vermont granite. His nose began abruptly and ended the same way. Shaggy penthouses ruled over eyes which were really threatened by blindness, but which seemed to possess second-sight. His white hair was always rumpled, as if by pawing slaps from his fat hands. He had trouble getting into a chair and out of it. He would ask for something only once. Then he bellowed.
Nelson lorded over the Kansas City political landscape. In one legendary encounter, Kansas City Mayor Joseph J. Davenport
Joseph J. Davenport
Joseph Jackson Davenport was a lawyer, realtor and Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri in 1889.Following his term a new city charter was implemented and terms were extended to two years....
was thrown down a stairwell at the Star building by editors (including William Allen White
William Allen White
William Allen White was a renowned American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement...
) when he was believed to have physically threatened Nelson. Nelson said afterwards:
- The Star never loses!
Other interests
In addition to his newspaper duties, Nelson developed an area of farmland south of downtown Kansas City into a neighborhood of more than 100 houses, including his own mansion called Oak Hall. The area, which became known as the Rockhill District, was noted for its use of limestone in both the houses and in stone walls that stood beside the streets Nelson also acquired more than 2400 acres (9.7 km²) in what is presently Grain Valley, MissouriGrain Valley, Missouri
Grain Valley is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, in the United States . The population was 5,160 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grain Valley is located at ....
, for the establishment of Sni A Bar Farm. The farm's mission was the development of improved breeding methods and livestock. It served as one of the world's leaders in animal health for more than 30 years.
Nelson provided in his will that following the death of his wife and daughter his Oak Hill mansion be torn down and its 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) estate turned into an art museum. Proceeds from his $6 million estate were used to build the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
in Kansas City. Nelson's will also established a trust for Sni A Bar Farm, with Presidents from the University of Missouri, the University of Kansas, and the University of Oklahoma charged with selecting its trustees.
The Art Gallery originally contained a recreation of Nelson's oak paneled room from Oak Hall (and namesake of the estate). The room contained Nelson's red plush easy chair and bookcases. The room was dismantled in 1988 to make way for a photography studio. Museum officials said it would be restored when space was available. However the room was not restored in the Bloch addition.
His memorial is located in a mausoleum located at Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Missouri, between Truman Road and US Route 24.