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.

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 Nicholas Murray Butler () was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the deceased Ja ...

Career

Higgins never worked for a living, though he did maintain a private office at 50

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East. In 1908, his steam yacht the ''Varuna'' wrecked off the

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; he received a medal for saving 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 1910, he ran into trouble with customers officials. In 1932, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled that Higgins was "not entitled to deduct for Federal income purposes the expenses of managing his securities in 1932 and 1933."

Personal life and death

Higgins was reputedly the "wealthiest bachelor in New York," ahead of

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, Mehmet Ali (brother of the

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, Frank W. Riggs, and members of the Goelet family. He never married. Higgins died at age 90 on July 29, 1948, in

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, 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. In 1952, his personal secretary asked for $150,000 in recognition of his extra duties as chess and yachting expert. In 1953, the Higgins Estate was valued at more than $40 million ($ in dollars).

Higgins Trust

Eugene Higgins Scientific Trust (aka "Higgins Trust"), also known as the Eugene Higgins Science Fund, was founded upon his death.

Eugene Higgins Scientific Trust

In 1948, the trust donated $40 million to Columbia, Harvard, and

Princeton 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 ni ...

. In 1949, the trust gave another $600,000 to each of these universities for advanced scientific studies. In 1951, the trust donated another $1 million, shared equally, to Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton universities. The funds from this trust endowed chairs at Columbia, Harvard,

, and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

universities.

Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust

In 1976, Eugene Higgins Charitable Trust was founded, now based in Providence, Rhode Island.

References

External links

New York Times
search on "Eugene Higgins" *
Records of the Eugene Higgins Scientific Trust records, 1951-1974
at the University Archives, Columbia University, New York, NY {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Eugene 1860 births 1948 deaths American philanthropists Rugs and carpets Columbia College (New York) alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters