Leonard Case Jr. (January 27, 1820 – January 6, 1880) was a philanthropist from
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, who endowed the
Case School of Applied Science
The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. It became the Case Institute of Technology in 1947 ...
(later Case Institute of Technology, merging with Western Reserve University to become
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
).
Biography
Case was born in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
on January 27, 1820, in a house located on the corner of Superior Avenue and E. 6th Street (known then as Bank Street). In his youth, he was educated locally in Cleveland at Rev. Colley Foster's private school, located at St. Clair Avenue and Ontario Street, followed by preparatory study at
Franklin T. Backus's classics school. Case entered
Yale University
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 wo ...
in 1838, graduating in 1842 with honors in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and languages, and notably helped found the
secret society
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
of the
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies ...
. He graduated from the
University of Cincinnati Law School
The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...
in 1844, and opened a law office in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
in 1845 after passing the Ohio bar exam. He limited his practice to working with his father, Leonard Case Sr., in settling claims arising from
Moses Cleaveland
Moses Cleaveland (January 29, 1754 – November 16, 1806) was an American lawyer, politician, soldier, and surveyor from Connecticut who founded the city of Cleveland, Ohio, while surveying the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1796. During the Ame ...
's
Connecticut Land Company
The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (e.-1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western Re ...
. His elder brother,
William Case, served as
Mayor of Cleveland
The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of Local government in the United States, government of the Cleveland, City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor government fo ...
from 1850–1851. Leonard stayed away from the
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
political life, although he did build and finance the Cleveland City Hall in the form of the "Case Block" located at Superior Avenue and East 3rd Street, leasing it to the city beginning in 1875. Later when asked why he continued to own the building, he was quoted by the
Cleveland Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday.
As of Ma ...
as saying, "how to dispose of the property so that it shall most benefit the city has given me much concern, but on one thing I am determined. Not a dollar of it shall, so far as I can help, go into the hands of politicians to be mismanaged and wasted."
Leonard never married. Though he was ill for all his life, he was devoted to academic affairs. His most famous poem ''Treasure Trove'', appeared in the ''
Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' in 1860, whose literary standard remained high during the period. To the surprise of the publication, Leonard mailed back a substantial check he had received for his submission, requesting the money go to another author whose poem was featured in the same edition. The Editor of the ''
Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', wrote back saying: "Dear Sir:- Your note, returning the check for 'Treasure Trove,' reached me; and I can only now mingle surprise for so unexpected courtesy with acknowledgements for it. It may, perhaps, be something of a return for the pecuniary abnegation to learn that both
Holmes
Holmes may refer to:
Name
* Holmes (surname)
* Holmes (given name)
* Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland
* Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer
Places
In the ...
and Saxe spoke highly of the poem..." The work was later published in 1873 by
James R. Osgood
James Ripley Osgood (1836–1892) was an American publisher in Boston. He was involved with the publishing company that became Houghton Mifflin.
Life and work
James Ripley Osgood was born in Fryeburg, Maine, on February 22, 1836. A reputed child ...
and Company.
Leonard concealed his involvement in a work published in 1876 known as ''Vocabulary of English Rhymes: Arranged on a New Plan'', paying and supporting fellow Yale alumnus,
Samuel Weed Barnum
Rev. Samuel Weed Barnum (June 4, 1820 – November 18, 1891) was an American minister and author.
Barnum, the only son of Horace and Cynthia (Weed) Barnum, was born in North Salem, New York, North Salem, Westchester County, New York, on June 4, 18 ...
, to devote two and half years to its creation. In a preface in the second addition dated January 10, 1896, the authors son, Thomas R. Barnum wrote: "it is proper to make a brief statement...in regard to the origin of the book. The late Leonard Case, Jr., of Cleveland, Ohio, Founder of the Case School of Applied Science...undertook to make for his friend, Dr. Alleyne Maynard of Cleveland, a rhyming dictionary arranged without regard to spelling, but according to the vowel sounds in the accented syllables of the rhymes. The result of Mr. Case's labor was embodied in a beautiful manuscript volume containing perhaps half of the words in this present Vocabulary...insisting that his own connection with the matter should be carefully concealed. This wish was scrupulously respected while Mr. Case lived, but now it is right to take this opportunity not only to acknowledge his share in the conception and execution of this work, but also to make grateful mention of one of those generous acts with which he quietly filled his life."
Case died at age 59 on January 6, 1880, after a coughing spell in his home on Rockwell Ave in
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
. His funeral was held three days later on January 9, 1880, inside his home, and he was buried in
Erie Street Cemetery
Erie Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is the city's oldest existing cemetery.
History
The cemetery was established in 1826 at what was then the edge of the city, taking its name from East 9th Street's origin ...
in
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
. In 1919, his body and those of his family were transferred to
Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...
in
University Circle
University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of America's densest concentrations of cultural attractions and performing arts venues, it includes such world-class institutions as the Cl ...
. The family monument still stands in
Erie Street Cemetery
Erie Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is the city's oldest existing cemetery.
History
The cemetery was established in 1826 at what was then the edge of the city, taking its name from East 9th Street's origin ...
.
Endowment
Upon his death in 1880, $1.25 million was set aside for the founding of "The Case School of Applied Science", carried out by his confidential agent, Henry G. Abbey. Case specified the school teach the subjects of mathematics, physics, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, economic geology, mining and metallurgy, natural history, drawing, and modern languages. For any unforeseen needs in the future, Case wrote he would grant permission for adding "other kindred branches of learning".
On March 29, 1880, articles of incorporation were filed for the founding of the
Case School of Applied Science
The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. It became the Case Institute of Technology in 1947 ...
. Classes began on September 15, 1881, first being held in the Case homestead on Rockwell Ave in
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
, before relocating to
University Circle
University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of America's densest concentrations of cultural attractions and performing arts venues, it includes such world-class institutions as the Cl ...
in 1885. With the merger with Western Reserve University in 1967, the Case surname remained, honored in the combined institutional naming of
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
.
Writings
''Treasure Trove'' (1873), illustrations by
Sol Eytinge Jr.
Solomon Eytinge Jr. (23 October 1833 – 26 March 1905), was an American illustrator of newspapers, journals and books by authors that included Charles Dickens and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Early life
His father, Solomon Eytinge, was a Dutch me ...
and engraved by
Andrew Varick Stout Anthony
Andrew Varick Stout Anthony (1835, in New York City – 1906) was a United States wood engraver.
Biography
Anthony was the son of Eliza (Stout) and John Anthony. He studied drawing and engraving under the best teachers in New York, and was one of ...
References
External links
Strangers to Us All*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Case, Leonard Jr.
1820 births
1880 deaths
Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University people
Patrons of schools
University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni
Yale College alumni
19th-century American philanthropists