Alfred Ronalds Conkling (September 28, 1850 – September 18, 1917) was an American geologist, lawyer, writer, and politician from New York.

Life

Conkling was born on September 28, 1850, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of

Frederick A. Conkling Frederick Augustus Conkling (August 22, 1816 – September 18, 1891) was a United States representative from New York during the American Civil War. He was also a postbellum banker, insurance company executive, and writer. Early life Freder ...

and Eleonora Ronalds. His brother was Howard Conkling. He was a member of the

Seymour-Conkling family {{unref, date=November 2018 The Seymour-Conkling family is a family of politicians from the United States. *Horatio Seymour 1778-1857, U.S. Senator from Vermont 1821-1833. *Henry Seymour 1780-1837, New York State Senator 1815-1819, 1821-1822. Broth ...

. Conkling attended Mount Washington Collegiate Institute. He then studied mining and metallurgy at the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, ...

at Yale University in 1868. He graduated from there in 1870 with a Bachelor of Philosophy. He then attended post-graduate courses at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he studied under

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

, Josiah Whitney, Josiah Parsons Cooke, and Nathaniel Shaler. In 1872, Conkling went abroad and studied geology and mineralogy in the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. He was then appointed United States geologist for the Wheeler Survey under

George M. Wheeler George Montague Wheeler (October 9, 1842 – May 3, 1905) was an American pioneering explorer and cartographer, leader of the Wheeler Survey, one of the major surveys of the western United States in the late nineteenth century. Wheeler was bor ...

. He left the federal government in 1879 and began studying law under Erastus C. Benedict. He later graduated from Columbia Law School in 1879. He was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney under Stewart L. Woodword from 1881 to 1882. Conkling then opened a law office. In the

1884 United States House of Representatives elections The 1884 United States House of Representatives elections, coincided with the election of President Grover Cleveland. In spite of Cleveland's victory, the opposition Republican Party gained back some of the seats lost in 1882, but the Democrati ...

, he was the Republican candidate for

New York's 7th congressional district New York's 7th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Democrat Nydia Velázquez represents the district in Congre ...

. He lost the election, but won the most votes any Republican received until then in the Democratic district. He was a member of the

New York City Common Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

from 1887 to 1888. In 1891, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a Republican, representing the New York County 7th District. He served in the Assembly in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

and

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

. In 1896, Conkling married Ethel Eastman Johnson, daughter of painter Eastman Johnson. They had three daughters, Murril R. L., Olga L. G., and Vivian E. H. He was a member of the Episcopal Church. He was a member of the

National Municipal League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 with a mission to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities. The League envisions a country where the full diversity of communi ...

of New York City, the Metropolitan Club, the

City Club of New York The City Club of New York is a New York City–based independent, not-for-profit organization. In 1950, ''The New York Times'' called the City Club of New York "a social club with a civic purpose"Tuxedo, New York. He published several books, including "Appleton's Guide to Mexico," "Life and Letters of

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...

," and "City Government in the United States." Conkling was separated from his wife Ethel since 1912, and their daughters spent most of their time with her. Upon the deaths of the daughters' uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. George Loillard Ronalds, they were to inherit the $750,000 estate, with Conkling appointed its guardian and trustee. His daughters accused him of restricting access to their estate funds, and brought him to court. The accusations and the upcoming trial deeply depressed Conkling, and on September 18, 1917, two days before he was to appear in court, he jumped from his home window on 157 E. 70th St. The day before he died, he executed a new will that left most of his $200,000 estate to his daughters. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Alfred R. Conkling
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Conkling, Alfred R. 1850 births 1917 suicides Writers from New York City New York City Council members Lawyers from New York City Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni 19th-century American geologists Columbia Law School alumni 19th-century American legislators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Suicides by jumping in New York City 19th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American Episcopalians Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century American lawyers 1917 deaths Conkling family American politicians who died by suicide