The Houghton family is a prominent
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...
business family. The
Corning Glass Works
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The c ...
were founded and run by some members of the family.
Family members and descendants
Their family includes:
* Amory Houghton Sr. (1812–1882), founder of Corning Glass Works (1851), married Sophronia Mann Oakes (1814–1880)
* Amory Houghton Jr. (1837–1909), former president of Corning Glass Works, married Ellen Ann Bigelow (1840–1918)
*
Jesse Houghton Metcalf (1860–1942),
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
from Rhode Island (1924–1937)
*
Alanson Bigelow Houghton (1863–1941), son of Amory Houghton Jr, former president of Corning Glass, former
U.S. Representative from New York (1919–1922), former
U.S. Ambassador to Germany (1922–1925), and former
U.S. Ambassador to Britain (1925–1929), married Adelaide Wellington (1867–1945)
* Arthur A. Houghton Sr. (1866–1928), son of Amory Houghton Jr, former president of Corning Glass, married Mahitbel Hollister (1867–1938)
*
William J. Tully (1870–1930), son-in-law of Amory Houghton Jr.; father of Alice Tully; New York State Senator 1905 to 1908
*
Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn
Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn (February 2, 1878 – March 17, 1951) was an American feminist social reformer and a leader of the suffrage movement in the United States. Hepburn served as president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Associ ...
(1878–1951),
suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
and
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
advocate, mother of actress Katharine Hepburn
*
Edith Houghton Hooker (1879–1948), suffragist
*
Amory Houghton
Amory Houghton (July 27, 1899 – February 21, 1981) served as United States Ambassador to France from 1957 to 1961 and as national president of the Boy Scouts of America. He was chairman of the board of Corning Glass Works (1941–1961). In 195 ...
(1899–1981), son of Alanson Bigelow Houghton; father of Amo, Jamie, and Arthur Houghton; former Corning Glass president and chairman; and former
Ambassador to France (1957–1961); ; co-founded the
Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass obje ...
*
Alice Tully
Alice Bigelow Tully (September 14, 1902 – December 10, 1993) was an American singer of opera and recital, music promoter, patron of the arts and philanthropist from New York. She was a second cousin of the American actress Katharine Hepburn.
...
(1902–1993), granddaughter of Amory Houghton Jr, philanthropist and founding benefactor of
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...
*
Arthur A. Houghton Jr. (1906–1990),
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, former president of
Steuben Glass Co., a former division of Corning Glass; co-founded the
Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass obje ...
*
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (1907–2003), four-time
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning actress, and named the
greatest female star of
classic Hollywood cinema by the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
.
*
Amo Houghton (1926-2020), former CEO of Corning Glass and former
U.S. Representative from New York (1987–2005)
*
James R. Houghton (b. 1936), retired chairman of Corning Inc.
*
Katharine Houghton
Katharine Houghton (born Katharine Houghton Grant; March 10, 1945) is an American actress and playwright. She portrayed Joanna "Joey" Drayton, a white woman who brings home her black fiancé to meet her parents, in the 1967 film '' Guess Who's ...
(b. 1945), actress
*
Mundy Hepburn (b. 1955), sculptor
*
Schuyler Grant
Schuyler DeBarthe Ranson Grant (born April 29, 1970) is an American former actress best known for playing Diana Barry in ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1985) and for other supporting roles in television.
Education
Grant graduated from Columbia Un ...
(b. 1970), actress, ''
Anne of Green Gables
''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, ...
''
See also
*
Wealthiest Americans (1957)
*
List of U.S. political families
*
President and Fellows of Harvard College
The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation) is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards, and is now the oldest corporation in America. Together with ...
(2006)
*
Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The c ...
**
Steuben Glass Works
Steuben Glass is an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the la ...
External links
Houghton Surname Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton Family
American families
History of glass
Political families of the United States
People associated with the Corning Museum of Glass