Eugene Higgins
{{Short description|American carpet business heir and philanthropist}}
{{infobox person
| name =
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1860|01|14}}
| birth_place = New York City
| death_date = {{dda|1948|07|29|1860|01|14}}
| death_place = Torquay, England
| alma_mater = Columbia University
| parents = Elias Smith Higgins
Emma Louise Baldwin
| relations =
}}
Eugene Higgins (1860 – 1948) was the rich heir to a carpet-making business, known as a bon vivant, sportsman, and philanthropist. A bachelor when he died in 1948, his estate went to establish the Higgins Trust, at that time, the eleventh largest of its kind in the USA.
{{cite news
| title = Eugene Higgins, Host to Society
| newspaper = New York Times
| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1948/07/30/86905528.pdf
| pages = 17
| date = 30 July 1948
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}
Background
Eugene Higgins was born on January 14, 1860, in New York City. His parents were Elias Smith Higgins (1815–1889), a carpet manufacturer who made a fortune with "labor-saving devices," and Emma Louise Baldwin (1827–1890). In 1882, he graduated from Columbia University, where he was a classmate of future Columbia president Nicholas Murray Butler.
{{cite news
| title = $40,000,000 Science Fund Willed to Four Universities
| newspaper = The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1948/07/30/archives/euge-higgins-host-to-society-i-son-of-carpet-manufacturer-once.html
| pages = 1
| date = 21 August 1948
Career
Higgins never worked for a living, though he did maintain a private office at 50 Union Square East. In 1908, his steam yacht the Varuna wrecked off the Madeira Islands; he received a medal for saving the lives of several guests aboard.
A sportsman, Higgins won the 1890 American fencing championship and was a proficient golfer, hunter, fisherman, and yachtsman. He maintained a townhouse on Fifth Avenue in New York City and a country house in Morristown, New Jersey.
In 1897 he commissioned the 1573 ton steam yacht 'Varuna' from A. & J. Inglis, designed by George Lennox Watson, a sister ship to SY 'Mayflower' (for Ogden Goelet) and SY 'Nahma' (for Robert Goelet).The Steam Yachts by Erik Hofman ISBN 0-8286-0040-6
In 1910, he ran into trouble with customs officials. In 1932, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Higgins was "not entitled to deduct for Federal income purposes the expenses of managing his securities in 1932 and 1933."
{{cite news
| title = Loses on Securities Cost
| newspaper = The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/04/archives/loses-on-securities-cost-higgins-american-in-paris-fails-in-supreme.html
| pages = 13
| date = 4 February 1941
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}
Personal life and death
Higgins was reputedly the "wealthiest bachelor in New York," ahead of George Washington Vanderbilt II, Mehmet Ali (brother of the Khedive of Egypt), Frank W. Riggs, and members of the Goelet family. He never married.
Higgins died at age 88 on July 29, 1948, in Torquay, United Kingdom. He bequeathed $10,000 each to his brother-in-law Henry Mortimer Brooks (for his nephew, Reginald Brooks) and two nieces, "merely as a token of affection... knowing that they are all well and amply provided for."
Higgins Estate
In 1949, The United States Trust Company issued more than $18 million of "outstanding tax-exempt bonds" owned by Higgins' estate.
{{cite news
| title = Wide Bidding Seen for Higgins Bonds
| newspaper = The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1949/05/21/archives/wide-bidding-seen-for-higgins-bonds-18663000-offering-of-choice.html
| pages = 19
| date = 21 May 1949
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}} In 1952, his personal secretary asked for $150,000 in recognition of his extra duties as chess and yachting expert.
{{cite news
| title = Higgins' Secretary Sues His Estate
| newspaper =The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1952/01/03/archives/higgins-secretary-sues-his-estate-late-millionaires-aide-asks.html
| pages = 23
| date = 3 January 1952
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}} In 1953, the Higgins Estate was valued at more than $40 million (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|40,111,999|1953}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}} dollars).
{{cite news
| title = Net Higgins Estate Valued at $40,111,999
| newspaper = The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1953/07/15/archives/net-higgins-estate-valued-at-40111999.html
| pages = 13
| date = 15 July 1953
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}
Higgins Trust
=Eugene Higgins Scientific Trust=
In 1948, the trust donated $40 million to Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton. In 1949, the trust gave another $600,000 to each of these universities for advanced scientific studies.
{{cite news
| title = $600,00 Allotted by Higgins Trust
| newspaper = New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1949/07/22/archives/600000-allotted-by-higgins-trust-columbia-harvard-princeton-yale.html
| pages = 32
| date = 22 July 1949
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}} In 1951, the trust donated another $1 million, shared equally, to Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton universities.
{{cite magazine
| title = Higgins Trust
| magazine = Princeton Alumni Weekly
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oxlbAAAAYAAJ
| pages = 5
| date = 27 April 1951
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}
{{cite news
| title = Fund to Aid Universities
| newspaper = New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1951/04/05/archives/fund-to-aid-universities-eugene-higgins-scientific-trust-will.html
| pages = 31
| date = 5 April 1951
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}
The funds from this trust endowed chairs at Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale universities.{{citation |title=The papers of Dwight David Eisenhower |volume=20 |page=437}}
Notable people holding a Eugene Higgins Professorship include:
- Thomas Appelquist{{Cite web |title=Thomas Appelquist | website = Yale University Department of Physics |url=https://physics.yale.edu/people/thomas-appelquist |access-date=2024-07-01 |language=en}}
- Peter Cresswell{{Cite web |title=Immunobiologist is named Eugene Higgins Professor |url=https://medicine.yale.edu/news/medicineatyale/article/immunobiologist-is-named-eugene-higgins-professor/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=medicine.yale.edu |language=en}}
- Steven M. Girvin (formerly)
- Karsten Heeger{{Cite web |date=2023-05-12 |title=Heeger appointed Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics |url=https://news.yale.edu/2023/05/12/heeger-appointed-eugene-higgins-professor-physics |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=YaleNews |language=en}}
- Michal Lipson{{Cite press release |title=Michal Lipson Named Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering |url=https://www.ee.columbia.edu/michal-lipson-named-eugene-higgins-professor-electrical-engineering | date= 28 October 2015 | website= Columbia University School of Electrical Engineering}}
- Elizabeth L. Paluck{{Cite press release|title=Faculty members named to endowed professorships |url=https://dof.princeton.edu/news/2023/faculty-members-named-endowed-professorships-2 |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Office of the Dean of the Faculty| date=27 September 2023|language=en}}
- Jason Petta{{Cite press release|date= 1 February 2019 |title=Two faculty members named to endowed professorships |url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/02/01/two-faculty-members-named-endowed-professorships |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Princeton University Office of Communications|language=en}}
=Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust=
In 1976, Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust was founded, now based in Providence, Rhode Island.{{multiref2|{{cite web
| title = Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = ALMA Philanthropy Inc
| url = https://alma.app/charities/136073358-eugene-higgins-charitable-trust
| date =
| accessdate = 12 November 2019
| archive-date = 12 November 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191112184005/https://alma.app/charities/136073358-eugene-higgins-charitable-trust
| url-status = dead
}}|
{{cite web
| title = Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = ProPublica
| url = https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136073358
| date = 9 May 2013
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}|
{{cite web
| title = Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = Charity Navigator
| url = https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=136073358
| date =
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}|
{{cite web
| title = Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = Foundation Center
| url = https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile/?key=UWEU001#about
| date =
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}|
{{cite web
| title = Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = Guidstar
| url = https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-6073358
| date =
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}|
{{cite web
| title = UW Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust
| publisher = Bloomberg
| url = https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0202339D:US
| date =
| accessdate = 12 November 2019}}}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.nytimes.com/search?dropmab=false&query=%22Eugene%20Higgins%22&sort=oldest New York Times] search on "Eugene Higgins"
- {{find a Grave|49072681}}
- [https://clio.columbia.edu/catalog/5799308 Records of the Eugene Higgins Scientific Trust records, 1951-1974] at the University Archives, Columbia University, New York, NY
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Eugene}}
Category:American philanthropists
Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni
Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters