Seth Low
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seth Low (January 18, 1850 - September 17, 1916), born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American educator and political figure who served as mayor of Brooklyn, as President of Columbia University, as diplomatic representative of the United States, and as Mayor of New York City.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Low attended the Polytechnic Preparatory (now Poly Prep Country Day School) high school in Brooklyn and Columbia College. Low, whose father, Abiel Abbot Low, was a leading China trader, then spent several years in the family's business through the 1870s, but left to enter politics. In 1880 he married Anne Wroe Scollay Curtis of Boston in 1880, daughter of Justice Benjamin R. Curtis of the United States Supreme Court.
[edit] Mayor of Brooklyn
Low became mayor of Brooklyn in 1881, following in the footsteps of his paternal grandfather, who was Brooklyn's mayor earlier in the century. He served two terms until 1885, and seemed to have been a popular leader, but his support of Grover Cleveland in 1884 caused a rift with his fellow Republicans and cost him a third term.
[edit] Presidency of Columbia University
Following his tenure as mayor of Brooklyn, Low assumed the presidency of Columbia College, serving between 1890 and 1901, during which time he led the move of the institution from Midtown Manhattan to Morningside Heights, and secured trustee approval to change its name to "Columbia University". The new campus matched Low's vision of a civic university fully integrated into the city; the original design, subsequently reconceived, left it open to the street and surrounding neighborhoods. In 1895, he gave one million dollars for Low Memorial Library to be built at the new Columbia University campus. It was to be dedicated to his father, Abiel Abbot Low (1811-1893), who was the wealthiest China trader in New York, importing teas, porcelains, and silk. It was with the inheritance from his father that he built the library, which opened in 1897.
[edit] International Peace Conference
On July 4, 1899 he was one of the American delegates to attend the International Peace Conference at The Hague. Others in the delegation were Andrew D. White, then the United States Ambassador to the German Empire; Stanford Newel of Minnesota, then the United States Minister to the Netherlands; Captain Alfred Mahan, of the United States Navy; Captain William Crozier, of the United States Army; and Frederick Holls of New York.
At the conference, Low made the concluding speech. His remarks were printed two months later in The New York Times. He said:
- On this day, so full for Americans of thoughts connected with their National Independence, we may not forget that Americans have yet other grounds for gratitude to the people of the Netherlands. We cannot forget that our flag received its first foreign salute from a Dutch officer, nor that the Province of Friesland gave to our independence its first formal recognition. By way of Leyden and Delft-Haven and Plymouth Rock, and again by way of New Amsterdam, the free public school reached American shores.
- The United States of America have taken their name from the United States of the Netherlands. We have learned from you only that "in union there is strength"; that is an old lesson, but also, in large measure, how to make "One out of many." From you we have learned what we, at least, value, to separate Church and State; and from you we gather inspiration at all times in our devotion to learning, to religious liberty, and to individual and National freedom. These are some of the things for which we believe the American people owe no little gratitude to the Dutch; and these are the things for which today, speaking in the name of the American people, we venture to express their heartfelt thanks.
[edit] Mayor of New York City
He resigned as president of the university to become the second mayor of the newly consolidated City of New York (1902 to 1903). During his 1901 campaign, he had the support of humorist Mark Twain. He and Twain made a joint appearance that The New York Times, on October 30, 1901, said drew a crowd of more than 2,000. "Ten minutes before the opening of the meeting the rush of those trying to crowd into the already packed hall became so threatening that a half dozen policemen at the entrance were almost carried off their feet, and were forced, by way of precaution, to close the doors," said the Times. "Within the hall every available inch of space was called into requisition. Men and boys climbed up the latticework surrounding the elevator at one side of the hall, and climbed up on window sills and wherever there was an inch to give a foothold above the heads of the rest of the men."
Even though Low's first campaign for mayor of consolidated New York in 1897 was unsuccessful-partially because of a division among anti-Tammany Hall candidates and parties-he managed to attain office four years later. [1]
Low stands out as the first mayor of Greater New York to be elected on a fusion ticket, with the support of both the Citizens Union and Republican parties. Some of his notable achievements include the introduction of a civil service system-based upon merit-for hiring municipal employees, reducing widespread graft within the police department, improving the system of education within the city, and lowering taxes. Despite these seemingly impressive achievements he only served for one year, and was defeated in 1903 by George B. McClellan, Jr., the son of famous Civil War general-and failed Democratic candidate for president - George Brinton McClellan.
[edit] Later life
He was chairman of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1907 until his death in 1916. From 1907, he was also president of the business-labour alliance, the National Civic Federation. Even though he believed in collective bargaining rights, which had customarily been denied to labor unions by those in authority, he did not favor strikes, but rather, embraced arbitration as a suitable labor-management negotiation tactic.
On September 17, 1916, Low died in his home in Bedford Hills, New York. Even his funeral demonstrated the ability of Low to reach political consensus, with honorary pallbearers that included both industrialist J.P. Morgan and labor activist and AFL founder Samuel Gompers. [2]
[edit] Further reading
- Benjamin R. C. Low, Seth Low (1925).
- Columbia Alumni News, Oct. 20, 1916.
- Board of Estimate and Apportionment and Board of Aldermen: Joint Session in Memory of Honorable Seth Low . . . Sept. 25, 1916 (1916).
- A. L. Moffat, "Low Geneal.: The Descendants of Seth Low and Mary Porter" (1932), a copy of which is in the Lib. of Cong.; and the New York press of Sept. 18, 1916.
[edit] External links
- Seth Low Biography
- Seth Low Quotes
- Mark Twain and Seth Low Speak
- Citizens Union
- Works by or about Seth Low in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
| Preceded by Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard |
President of Columbia University 1890 – 1901 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Murray Butler |
| Preceded by Robert A. Van Wyck |
Mayor of New York City 1902 – 1903 |
Succeeded by George B. McClellan, Jr. |
|
|||||||
