![Robert Maclay Widney ca1885](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Robert_Maclay_Widney_ca1885.jpg)
Robert Maclay Widney (December 23, 1838 – November 14, 1929) was an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
,
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, and one of the founders of the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
(USC).
History
He was born in
Piqua, Ohio
Piqua ( ) is a city in Miami County, southwest Ohio, United States, 27 miles north of Dayton. The population was 20,522 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
It was founded as the village of Washington in ...
. He was the older brother of
Joseph Widney
Joseph Pomeroy Widney, M.D. D.D. LL.D (December 26, 1841 – July 4, 1938), was an American doctor, educator, historian, and religious leader.
After the American Civil War led him to medicine, he followed his brothers to California where ...
, second president of USC; and the nephew of
Robert Samuel Maclay
Robert Samuel Maclay, D.D. (; Pinyin: ''Mài Lìhé''; Foochow Romanized: ''Măh Lé-huò''; February 7, 1824 - August 18, 1907) was an American missionary who made pioneer contributions to the Methodist Episcopal missions in China, Japan and Kor ...
, a pioneer missionary to China; and
Charles Maclay
Charles Maclay (November 9, 1822 – July 19, 1890) was a California state senator and is known for his act of purchasing a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho. Maclay displaced and, the tribe argues, ...
, later a state senator for California.
Widney left Ohio in September 1855 and spent two years hunting and trapping on the
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
and in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
.
Los Angeles
Widney arrived in California in September 1857. He studied at the
University of the Pacific (then located in
Santa Clara) from 1858 to 1862. He was admitted to the bar in 1865, and moved to
Los Angeles
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' ...
in 1867. In 1871, he was named a judge of the Court of California for Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. He was a founder of the
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is Southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A. County, more than 1,400 member companies and more than 722,430 employ ...
(established in 1873). He was a member of the 19th century 'Lincoln' Republican Party.
In 1874 Widney began the first successful public rail transit company in Los Angeles, building a horse drawn trolly line between
Los Angeles Plaza
Los Angeles Plaza or Plaza de Los Ángeles is located in Los Angeles, California. It is the central point of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District. When Governor Felipe de Neve founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles, his first act was to locate a pl ...
and 6th Street at Pearl Street (present day
Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington north to Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of Figueroa Street runs just south of Marengo Driv ...
in
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
).
University of Southern California
Los Angeles was still a growing frontier town in the early 1870s, when a group of public-spirited citizens led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney first saw the need and imagined establishing a university in the city. It took nearly a decade for this vision to become a reality, but in 1879 Widney formed a board of trustees and on July 29, 1879, secured a donation of 308 lots of undeveloped land in
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
from three prominent members of the community —
Ozro W. Childs
Ozro Childs (1824–1890) was a Protestant horticulturalist, merchant, and banker in the 19th century in Los Angeles, California. He was a founder of the University of Southern California.
Early years
Ozro W. Childs was born in Sutton, Vermon ...
, a Protestant Los Angeles horticulturist and merchant; former California governor
John G. Downey, an Irish-Catholic pharmacist and businessman; and
Isaias W. Hellman, a German-Jewish Los Angeles philanthropist and banker/founder of
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles
Farmers and Merchants Bank (F&M) is a historic lending institution (1871−1952) based in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is known both for its architecture and its pivotal role in the economic development of early Los Angeles. Other, non-r ...
. The gift provided land for a campus as well as a source of endowment, the seeds of financial support for the nascent institution.
On August 29, 2014, a statue of Judge Robert Maclay Widney was unveiled by USC President C. L. Max Nikias before USC Trustees, senior leadership, and members of the USC community, including descendants of the founder. The bronze monument, sculpted by Christopher Slatoff, stands on campus at the entrance of the Widney Alumni House.
Death
Robert M. Widney died on November 14, 1929 in Los Angeles. He was interred at
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown.
It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, ...
in
Central Los Angeles
__NOTOC__
Central Los Angeles is the historic urban region of the City of Los Angeles, California.
Geography The City of Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning divides the city into Area Planning Commission (APC) areas, each fur ...
.
References
External links
L.A. Public Library biography file for Robert M.Widney (PDF–1.4MB) West Adams Historical Society: Biographical sketch of Robert M. Widney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widney, Robert Maclay
California state court judges
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Lawyers from Los Angeles
1838 births
1929 deaths
American railway entrepreneurs
American railroad pioneers
University of Southern California people
Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
California Republicans
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles people
McGeorge School of Law alumni
People from Piqua, Ohio
19th century in Los Angeles
Maclay family
University and college founders