Childs Frick (March 12, 1883 - May 8, 1965) was an American vertebrate paleontologist. He was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and a major benefactor of its Department of Paleontology, which in 1916 began a long partnership with him. He established its Frick Laboratory. He also made many expeditions to the American West, and his efforts helped to shape an understanding of the evolution of North American camels. By employing many field workers, Frick accumulated over 200,000 fossil mammals, which later were donated to the Museum.

Biography

Frick was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the son of the coke and steel magnate

Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a maj ...

(1849–1919) and Adelaide Howard Childs. He grew up at the family's Pittsburgh estate, Clayton, although the family later moved in 1905 to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He developed his lifelong love for animals playing in the wooded grounds and steep hills behind Clayton, later dedicated as

Frick Park Frick Park is the largest municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, covering . It is one of Pittsburgh's four historic large parks. History The park began when Henry Clay Frick, upon his death in 1919, bequeathed south of Clayto ...

. He attended

Shady Side Academy } Shady Side Academy is an independent preparatory school located in the Borough of Fox Chapel (suburban Pittsburgh), and in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883 as an all-male night school in the Shadyside ...

in Pittsburgh and graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1905, where he was a member of Colonial Club.Bric a Brac Yearbook, Princeton University, 1904. In 1913, Frick married Frances Shoemaker Dixon (1892–1953) of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The couple had four children: Adelaide, Frances, Martha Howard (Marsie; wife of J. Fife Symington Jr.), and Henry Clay II. As a gift, Frick's father purchased a Georgian-style mansion in

Roslyn Harbor, New York Roslyn Harbor is a village in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Incorporated Village of Roslyn. The population was 1,051 at th ...

, on land that originally belonged to the poet

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

. The couple lived at the estate, named " Clayton" after his childhood home, for more than 50 years. Henry Clay Frick famously played favorites with his two surviving children, Childs and

Helen Clay Frick Helen Clay Frick (September 2, 1888 – November 9, 1984) was an American philanthropist and art collector. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and his wife ...

(1888–1984). After the reading of their father's will, which favored Helen, the two siblings were estranged for the rest of their lives. Childs Frick died of a heart attack at age 81 in Roslyn. He is interred alongside his wife and parents in the Frick family plot at Pittsburgh's

Homewood Cemetery Homewood Cemetery is a historic urban cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Point Breeze and is bordered by Frick Park, the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, and the smaller Smithfield Cemetery. It was established ...

. In 1969, Frick's Roslyn Harbor estate was purchased by Nassau County for the purpose of conversion into the

Nassau County Museum of Art The Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) is located east of New York City on the former Frick "Clayton" Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors a ...

References

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External links

Childs Frick Building at AMNH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frick, Childs 1883 births 1965 deaths Scientists from Pittsburgh American paleontologists Burials at Homewood Cemetery People associated with the American Museum of Natural History People from Roslyn, New York People from Roslyn Harbor, New York Shady Side Academy alumni Scientists from New York (state)