Philip Linnaes Boyd (October 8, 1900 – September 9, 1989) was the first mayor of Palm Springs, California, a regent of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

and the namesake of the Deep Canyon Desert Research Center.

Personal life

Philip Boyd was born October 8, 1900, in Richmond, Indiana, the son of lawyer and corporate executive Linnaes Cox Boyd and Mary Thomas Spencer, daughter of prominent businessman William F. Spencer. Boyd fell ill and was forced to drop out of

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...

, where he was a student. In 1921 his parents brought him to Palm Springs in the hope the dry climate would help him recover. According to Boyd, his long illness forced him to consider what he would do with his life once he was healed. Boyd started work as a secretary for the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and opened the first branch of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

in Palm Springs. During the Great Depression Boyd was able to delve into real estate, buying ranch lands in the area of Deep Canyon. In 1953 Boyd, who was on the board of trustees for the

Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

, leased property for a nature reserve now part of the

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, formerly the Living Desert Museum, is a non-profit zoo and desert botanical garden located in Palm Desert, Riverside County, California, United States. The Living Desert is home to over 500 animals representing ...

. Boyd encouraged faculty from the newly opened

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

to use his nature reserve for research only to realize his public nature reserve was not a fitting setting for academic research. In 1958 Boyd donated another parcel of land and funding to purchase a total of in Deep Canyon to open what is now the research center. The University of California has since acquired other contiguous property to expand the research area to its current size. The acquired lands were named after Boyd in 1961.

Clark Kerr Clark Kerr (May 17, 1911 – December 1, 2003) was an American professor of economics and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and twelfth president of the University of California. B ...

(then the President of the University) and Herman Spieth (the chancellor of the Riverside campus) commented that the reservation would allow ongoing research to continue in ecosystems threatened by

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. Boyd and his wife donated funds in 1966 to support the construction of UCR's carillon and bell tower. Boyd's memoir is archived at UCR in the Special Collections Department of Rivera Library. Boyd and his wife also donated a set of silver Towle salt and pepper shakers to the

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It ...

Political life

Boyd was instrumental in incorporating Palm Springs, serving as the town's first mayor from 1938 to 1942. He ran unopposed for a seat in the California State Assembly, representing Riverside in what had been then called the 76th Assembly District from 1945 to 1949. While an assemblyman, Boyd voted to establish

. As a member of California's State Public Works Boards Boyd participated in the logistical process of establishing the UCR campus. In 1950 was elected chairman of the

California Republican Party The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of California. The party is based in Sacramento and is led by chair Jessica Millan Patterson. As of October 2020, Republicans repre ...

's central committee, beating out the serving vice-chairman who would traditionally have been elected. In 1957 Goodwin J. Knight, then Governor of California, appointed Boyd as a

Regent of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...

system. Boyd resigned his position as regent April 1, 1970 after new laws changed the financial disclosure requirements for state officials.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Philip L. Mayors of Palm Springs, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly University of California regents 1900 births 1989 deaths California Republican Party chairs People from Rancho Mirage, California People from Richmond, Indiana Wabash College alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American academics