Charles W. Clark (businessman)

Charles W. Clark
BornNovember 3, 1871
Deer Lodge, Montana, US
DiedApril 3, 1933(1933-04-03) (aged 61)
New York City, US
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Spouses
  • Katherine Quinn Roberts
  • Celia Tobin
Parent(s)William Andrews Clark Sr.
Katherine Louise Stauffer
RelativesHuguette Clark (half sister)

Charles Walker Clark, also known as "C. W. Clark" or "Charlie Clark" (November 3, 1871 – April 3, 1933), was an American businessman and the eldest son of William Andrews Clark Sr., one of the Copper Kings.

Early life

Clark was born on November 3, 1871, in Deer Lodge, Montana. His father, William A. Clark (1839–1925), was a Montana copper magnate and later a United States Senator for Montana.[1][2] His mother, Katherine Louise Stauffer (1844–1893), was a socialite.[3]

Career

He served as the manager and later as chairman of the United Verde Copper Company in Jerome, Arizona.[1][2] Together with his father and his brother, he was also a partner in a bank in Butte, Montana.[2]

Personal life

In 1896, Charles Clark married Katherine Quinn Roberts, who died in New York City in January 1904.[4] Later that year, he married Cecelia "Celia" Tobin (1874–1965), a member of San Francisco high society, who came from one of San Francisco’s founding families, who opened and grew its Hibernia Bank and were patrons of numerous civic causes.[5] She had been trained as a pianist and in equestrianism.[2] They divorced and she later moved into a home in Hillsborough, California, which became known as the Tobin Clark Estate.[6]

A fan and participant in equestrian sports, Clark resided at his "El Palomar" estate in San Mateo, California, a property he purchased in 1902 which had a polo field and race track.[1] The owner of Thoroughbred racehorses, among his successful runners was United Verde, a horse named for his mining company. United Verde won several stakes races including the 1920 Bashford Manor Stakes and the 1922 Ben Ali Handicap.[7][8]

According to Pulitzer winner Bill Dedman, Clark had "the longest private railcar ever built, which he sold to Howard Hughes."[1] He was prone to heavy drinking and gambling.[1]

He collected rare books. In 1917, the Book Club of California presented an exhibition of 66 incunabula from his collection at the Hill Tolerton Gallery, San Francisco.[9]

Death

Charles Clark died of pneumonia on April 3, 1933, in New York City.[1] He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bill Dedman, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Loss of one of the World's Greatest Fortunes, London: Atlantic Books, 2013, p. 142
  2. ^ a b c d Miss Celia Tobin Weds C. W. Clark, The Son of Montana Millionaire, San Francisco Call, Volume 96, Number 66, 5 August 1904
  3. ^ "Daughter of Connellsville's controversial billionaire dies". The Tribune-Review. May 28, 2011. Retrieved Jan 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "Los Angeles Herald". Vol. XXXI, no. 121. 28 January 1904. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  5. ^ Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of Celia Tobin Clark, Lot 27, Sotheby's, 1904. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  6. ^ Sotheby's International Realty: Tobin Clark Estate Archived March 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "United Verdes Big Victory: Wins Valuable Bashford Manor Stakes in Gallant Style". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1920-05-13. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  8. ^ "Lexington Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1922-04-30. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  9. ^ A Loan Exhibition of Incunabula Held by the Book Club of California in the Galleries of Hill Tolerton from October Second to October Thirty-first MDCCCCXVII. San Francisco: Book Club of California. 1917.
  10. ^ The Phantom of Fifth Avenue