Henricus Wallace Westlake (June 1858 – 12 May 1905) was a Canadian physician who moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, around 1888, settled in the rolling hills west of the city and gave his name to both a municipal park and a neighborhood in the city."Dr. Westlake Is No More," ''Los Angeles Times,'' page II-1
/ref>"Death Ends Career of Able Physician," ''Los Angeles Herald,'' May 14, 1905
/ref> Westlake was born in either Canada or England in June 1858. He was a graduate of the medical department of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal and also earned diplomas in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He moved to Los Angeles in 1888, where he pioneered in building a large home on Burlington Avenue in the empty, rolling hills west of the city. He developed a large medical practice and was also president of the California-Corsica Citron Company and the Westlake-Rommel Oil Company, besides owning mining interests in Arizona. He was also the inventor of at least one medical device. He was known as a generous

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

who gave large sums to charities. He donated to the city an "unsightly gully" which in the winter filled with storm water and became stagnant, and the land was later developed into Westlake Park, now known as

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated ...

. In 1885 or 1889 he married Fannie Farquhar of Canada, who was his only survivor when he died on May 12, 1905.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westlake, Henricus Wallace Businesspeople from Los Angeles Philanthropists from California 1858 births 1905 deaths 19th century in Los Angeles McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Place of birth missing Date of birth missing 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople