John Titus Mather (1854-1928) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was born in

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, on June 27, 1854, and died in

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, on March 30, 1928. The descendant of a shipbuilding family, he spent most of his active life in that industry. The annals of shipbuilding in the Port Jefferson vicinity are closely related to John T. Mather and his blood predecessors.

Career

Mather's great grandfather was Captain John Wilsie, who built a sailing vessel in

as early as 1797. This was the beginning of the Mather ship building business. Under the direction of his father, John R. Mather, the business specialized in building large sailing vessels. After John R. Mather’s death, the firm built the ''Martha E. Wallace'', the last large sailing vessel built in Port Jefferson. John T. Mather had other large businesses related to shipping. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Mather disposed of his holdings and retired from active business life. For many years prior to his death, he made careful study of how best to use the proceeds of his success to the benefit of those less fortunate. As early as 1916, Mather had made provisions in his will for setting aside a substantial sum to erect and maintain a non-sectarian

charitable hospital A charitable hospital, or charity hospital, is a non-profit hospital that provides treatment for poor and uninsured people who can't purchase treatment. An example would be St. Jude Children's Hospital that provides assistance to children and funds ...

– to give people the advantage of the best in hospital facilities at a reasonable cost. Built according to his wishes, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital opened its doors on December 29, 1929 and serves the community to this day. It is located at 75 North Country Rd., Port Jefferson Mather did not marry, devoting his life chiefly to business and philanthropic projects. The Mather House Museum, located at 115 Prospect Street, Port Jefferson, was the home of the Mather family.Port Jefferson - Tour II
, Port Jefferson Historical Society. The museum displays many authentic shipbuilding tools, original ship attachments and furniture settings of the period.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital Mather Hospital (formerly known as John T. Mather Memorial Hospital) is a general teaching hospital operated by Northwell Health, located in Port Jefferson, New York. It is named after John T. Mather (1854-1928), who, in 1916, made provisions to h ...

is a 248-bed community teaching hospital. It is home to an Emergency Pavilion, a state-of-the-art Ambulatory and Inpatient Surgical Pavilion and a Medical Office Building, all on a campus. The hospital's historic original structure, which was completed and opened in 1929, remains as the centerpiece of the expanded campus at the hospital's central courtyard. In 2018 the hospital became part of Northwell Health and the name was officially changed to Mather Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, John T. 1854 births 1928 deaths American shipbuilders Philanthropists from New York (state) People from Port Jefferson, New York