Widney left Ohio in September 1855 and spent two years hunting and trapping on the Great Plains and in the Rocky Mountains.
Los Angelesedit
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 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 (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 1.5 miles (2.4 km) horse drawn trolly line between Los Angeles Plaza and 6th Street at Pearl Street (present day Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles).
University of Southern Californiaedit
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 from three prominent members of the community — Ozro W. Childs, 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.[1] 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.[2][3]
^USC.edu: History of the University of Southern California 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
^Mier, Tomás. "USC must 'reckon with its history of white supremacy' in its namesake sites, some say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
^"USC embraces its history with unveiling of Judge Widney statue". USC News. 2014-08-30. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
External linksedit
L.A. Public Library biography file for Robert M.Widney (PDF–1.4MB)
West Adams Historical Society: Biographical sketch of Robert M. Widney
January 01, 1970
robert, widney, robert, maclay, widney, december, 1838, november, 1929, american, lawyer, judge, founders, university, southern, california, contents, history, angeles, university, southern, california, death, references, external, linkshistory, edithe, born, . Robert Maclay Widney December 23 1838 November 14 1929 was an American lawyer judge and one of the founders of the University of Southern California USC Robert M Widney Contents 1 History 1 1 Los Angeles 1 2 University of Southern California 1 3 Death 2 References 3 External linksHistory editHe was born in Piqua Ohio He was the older brother of Joseph Widney second president of USC and the nephew of Robert Samuel Maclay a pioneer missionary to China and Charles Maclay later a state senator for California Widney left Ohio in September 1855 and spent two years hunting and trapping on the Great Plains and in the Rocky Mountains Los Angeles edit 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 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 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 1 5 miles 2 4 km horse drawn trolly line between Los Angeles Plaza and 6th Street at Pearl Street present day Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles University of Southern California edit 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 from three prominent members of the community Ozro W Childs 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 1 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 2 3 Death edit Robert M Widney died on November 14 1929 in Los Angeles He was interred at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Central Los Angeles References edit USC edu History of the University of Southern California Archived 2011 05 25 at the Wayback Machine Mier Tomas USC must reckon with its history of white supremacy in its namesake sites some say Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2020 07 23 USC embraces its history with unveiling of Judge Widney statue USC News 2014 08 30 Retrieved 2020 07 23 External links editL A Public Library biography file for Robert M Widney PDF 1 4MB West Adams Historical Society Biographical sketch of Robert M Widney Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert M Widney amp oldid 1185253369, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
