Herbert Elijah Wadsworth (October 25, 1868 - August 25, 1937) was a businessman, politician, and philanthropist in

Winslow, Maine Winslow is a New England town, town and census-designated place in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, along the Kennebec River across from Waterville, Maine, Waterville. The population was 7,948 at the 2020 United Stat ...

. He was president of the

oilcloth Oilcloth, also known as enameled cloth or American cloth, is close-woven cotton duck or linen cloth with a coating of boiled linseed oil to make it waterproof. Manufacture Boiled linseed oil was prepared by a long boiling of linseed oil with me ...

company Wadsworth and Woodman.

Personal

Wadsworth was born on October 25, 1868, in

Livermore Falls, Maine Livermore Falls is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,060 at the 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan ...

, to Elijah Wadsworth and Ruth Ann Record. He was educated first at

Hebron Academy Hebron Academy, founded in 1804, is a small, independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades six through postgraduate in Hebron, Maine. History Hebron Academy is one of the nation's oldest endowed preparatory ...

, then at the

Coburn Classical Institute The Coburn Classical Institute was a college preparatory school in Waterville, Maine, which operated from 1828–1970. Waterville Academy In its early years, Waterville College (now Colby College) had maintained a Latin school in the college bui ...

. He graduated from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

in 1892, where he was a member of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...

Career

He was president of Wadsworth and Woodman Company in

from 1905 to 1935. He was a director of the Charles M. Bailey Public Library. He served as a Maine State Representative and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and was the chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. He was the Chair of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

from 1926 to 1934. Upon his death, he sponsored an endowed professorship at Colby,"Death Halts Activities of Revered Colby Alumnus" The Colby Echo, Wednesday, September 29, 1937, p1. where a gymnasium is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, Herbert Elijah 1868 births 1937 deaths Colby College alumni People from Livermore Falls, Maine