John Hill Morgan (June 30, 1870 – July 16, 1945) was an American lawyer, politician, and art expert.

Life

Morgan was born on June 30, 1870, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the son of James Lancaster Morgan and Alice M. Hill. Morgan attended

Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...

and St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1893, and from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

with an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

cum laude in 1896. While in Yale College, he was a member of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

and Wolf's Head and served as business manager of ''The'' ''Yale Record''. In Yale Law School, he was a member of

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

and Corby Court, and was an editor of the '' Yale Law Journal''. Morgan was admitted to the New York bar in 1896. He practiced law in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for the next four years, at which point he moved his law practice to Brooklyn. In 1904, he joined the law firm Mckeen, Brewster & Morgan, and later formed the firm Rumsey & Morgan. He retired from his law practice in 1936, after which he moved to

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...

. He was also a trustee of the Brooklyn Savings Bank and the

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 1899, Morgan was elected to the New York State Assembly as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, representing the Kings County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

, and

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

. In the 1918 United States House of Representatives election, he was the Republican candidate for

New York's 7th congressional district New York's 7th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Democrat Nydia Velázquez represents the district in Congr ...

. He lost to James P. Maher. Morgan was an authority on American colonial art and wrote a number of books and articles on the subject. In 1924, he was elected to the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

. He was also a member of the

Walpole Society The Walpole Society, named after Horace Walpole, was founded in 1911 to promote the study of the history of British art and artists. From 1762 on, Walpole had published the first history of art in Britain, based on the manuscript notebooks of G ...

and was an honorary curator of the

Yale School of Fine Arts The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

, where he held the rank of assistant professor. His collection of early American paintings and portraits were displayed in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and the Brooklyn Museum, and in 1937 he presented a portrait of John C. Calhoun to

Calhoun College John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia * Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kansas *Calhoun, Kentucky ...

. He received an honorary M.A. from Yale in 1929, followed by an honorary LL.D. from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

in 1932. He was on the governing committee of the Brooklyn Museum and was a trustee of the

Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

and the New York Historical Society. In 1903, Morgan married Leila Augusta Myers. They had one daughter, Leila. He was a member of the Episcopal Church. He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the University Club, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justic ...

, and the Brooklyn Bar Association. He was a trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library and the

Children's Aid Society Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employees ...

. Morgan died at home on July 16, 1945. He was buried in Saint Paul's Church Cemetery in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
John Hill Morgan
at '' Find a Grave''
John Hill Morgan Research Files
at ''

The Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, John Hill 1870 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn Lawyers from Brooklyn Poly Prep alumni St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni The Yale Record alumni Yale Law School alumni Yale College alumni Yale School of Art faculty People from Farmington, Connecticut Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 20th-century American politicians American art historians Members of the American Antiquarian Society 20th-century American Episcopalians General Society of Colonial Wars Burials in New York (state) Historians from New York (state) Historians from Connecticut