William Delavan Baldwin

From WikiProjectMed
Jump to navigation Jump to search
William Delavan Baldwin
Born(1856-09-05)September 5, 1856
Auburn, New York, US
DiedSeptember 26, 1930(1930-09-26) (aged 74)
Yorktown Heights, New York, US
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPresident of Otis Elevator Company
SpouseHelen Runyon Sullivan
Signature

William Delavan Baldwin (5 September 1856 – 26 September 1930) was an American businessman.

Biography

William Delavan Baldwin was born on September 5, 1856, to Lovewell Hurd Baldwin and Sarah Jane Munson in Auburn, New York.[1] He was a descendant of John Baldwin, one of the first settlers in Dedham, Massachusetts.[2]

Baldwin was interested in mechanics and soon went to work for D. M. Osborne & Co. He excelled at business and was promoted within the company, eventually being sent to Europe to extend the firm's business there at twenty-one.[2][1] He stayed in this position for five years, but eventually decided he wanted to return to the United States.[1][3] In 1882, he resigned from the company to pursue his interest in the manufacturing of elevators, and joined Otis Brothers & Co, the precursor to the Otis Elevator Company, as its treasurer.[2] At the time, elevators were "something of a novelty," and going into the business was seen as a "prescient" decision.[4] Baldwin was noted for his business skill, courteousness, integrity, and perseverance.[1] He took the lead in reorganizing the business,[5] and was "largely instrumental" in the direction and organization of the Otis Elevator Company during his time there.[2] He eventually served as President and Director, as well as General Manager and Chairman of the Board of the company, which by then was the largest manufacturer of elevators in the world.[5][4]

Baldwin was involved in several other business and financial enterprises in addition to his work at Otis, and held high positions in several of them,[2] including being named the Vice President of the First National Bank of Yonkers.[1] and Director of the Lincoln Trust Company and Home Insurance Company.[5] He was also politically active as a member of the Republican party,[2] but never sought to run for office, even declining a nomination by the party in 1892 for Congress;[1] although his great grandson, Michael Delavan Ward, did serve in Congress, elected for one term in 1994 in Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, in Louisville.[citation needed] Baldwin was a member of a number of clubs and other political and social organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, the American Geographic Society, the Union League, the Adirondack League Club, and the Lawyers', Engineers', Racquet and Tennis, and National Arts clubs.[2][3][5] He served as President of The First Church of Christ, Scientist for one term from 1910 to 1911,[6] and President of the Board of Trustees for one of its New York branch churches, Second Church of Christ, Scientist, New York.[7][8]

Baldwin died in his home in Yorktown Heights, New York on September 26, 1930.[9][10]

Personal life

In 1881, he married Helen Runyon Sullivan, the daughter of Nahum M. Sullivan, a prominent New York merchant, and had at least seven children with her.[2][1][11]

Delavan Terrace, now part of Delavan Terrace Historic District, is named after him, and his former 550-acre estate in New York is now part of Donald J. Trump State Park.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Morris, Charles. (1894). Makers of New York: An Historical Work, Giving Portraits and Sketches of the Most Eminent Citizens of New York. L.R. Hamersly & Company. p. 346.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h ed. Harrison, Mitchell C. (1900). New York State's Prominent and Progressive Men: An Encyclopaedia of Contemporaneous Biography. New York Tribune. pp. 21-22.
  3. ^ a b ed. Mohr, William F. (1914). Who's who in New York City and State. L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 35.
  4. ^ a b c Young, Michelle (2020-11-05). "Donald J. Trump State Park's Abandoned Gilded Age Estate". Untapped Cites.
  5. ^ a b c d Leonard, John William. (1910). History of the City of New York, 1609-1909. Journal of commerce and commercial bulletin. p. 665.
  6. ^ "The Annual Meeting". Christian Science Sentinel. XII (41): 810. 11 June 1910.
  7. ^ Gray, Christopher (25 December 2005). "2 Congregations Unite, and No. 2 Becomes No. 1". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Swensen, Rolf (2010). "A Metaphysical Rocket in Gotham: The Rise of Christian Science in New York City, 1885–1910". Journal of Religion & Society. 12: 12.
  9. ^ W.D.BALDWIN DIES; OTIS COMPANY AIDE; Former President of Elevator Firm Succumbs at 74 in Yorktown Heights. New York Times. Sept. 27, 1930.
  10. ^ The Yonkers Herald . September 29, 1930.
  11. ^ The Montclair Times. October 22, 1881..
Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/William_Delavan_Baldwin"