Everything about Seth Low totally explained
Seth Low (
January 18,
1850 -
September 17,
1916), born in
Brooklyn,
New York, was an
American educator and
political figure who served as mayor of Brooklyn, as President of
Columbia University, as diplomatic representative of the
United States, and as
Mayor of New York City.
Early life
Low attended the Polytechnic Preparatory (now
Poly Prep Country Day School) high school in Brooklyn and
Columbia College. Low, whose father,
Abiel Abbot Low, was a leading China trader, then spent several years in the family's business through the 1870s, but left to enter politics. In 1880 he married Anne Wroe Scollay Curtis of Boston in 1880, daughter of Justice
Benjamin R. Curtis of the
United States Supreme Court.
Mayor of Brooklyn
Low became mayor of Brooklyn in
1881, following in the footsteps of his paternal grandfather, who was Brooklyn's mayor earlier in the century. He served two terms until
1885, and seemed to have been a popular leader, but his support of
Grover Cleveland in
1884 caused a rift with his fellow Republicans and cost him a third term.
Presidency of Columbia University
Following his tenure as mayor of Brooklyn, Low assumed the presidency of
Columbia College, serving between
1890 and
1901, during which time he led the move of the institution from
Midtown Manhattan to
Morningside Heights, and secured trustee approval to change its name to "Columbia University". The new campus matched Low's vision of a civic university fully integrated into the city; the original design, subsequently reconceived, left it open to the street and surrounding neighborhoods. In
1895, he gave one million dollars for
Low Memorial Library to be built at the new Columbia University campus. It was to be dedicated to his father,
Abiel Abbot Low (
1811-
1893), who was the wealthiest China trader in New York, importing teas, porcelains, and silk. It was with the inheritance from his father that he built the library, which opened in
1897.
International Peace Conference
On
July 4,
1899 he was one of the American delegates to attend the
International Peace Conference at
The Hague. Others in the delegation were
Andrew D. White, then the United States Ambassador to the German Empire;
Stanford Newel of
Minnesota, then the United States Minister to the
Netherlands; Captain
Alfred Mahan, of the
United States Navy; Captain
William Crozier, of the
United States Army; and
Frederick Holls of
New York.
At the conference, Low made the concluding speech. His remarks were printed two months later in
The New York Times. He said:
» On this day, so full for Americans of thoughts connected with their National Independence, we may not forget that Americans have yet other grounds for gratitude to the people of the Netherlands. We can't forget that our flag received its first foreign salute from a Dutch officer, nor that the Province of Friesland gave to our independence its first formal recognition. By way of Leyden and Delft-Haven and Plymouth Rock, and again by way of New Amsterdam, the free public school reached American shores.
» The United States of America have taken their name from the United States of the Netherlands. We have learned from you only that "in union there's strength"; that's an old lesson, but also, in large measure, how to make "One out of many." From you we've learned what we, at least, value, to separate Church and State; and from you we gather inspiration at all times in our devotion to learning, to religious liberty, and to individual and National freedom. These are some of the things for which we believe the American people owe no little gratitude to the Dutch; and these are the things for which today, speaking in the name of the American people, we venture to express their heartfelt thanks.
Mayor of New York City
He resigned as president of the university to become the second mayor of the newly consolidated
City of New York (
1902 to
1903). During his 1901 campaign, he'd the support of humorist
Mark Twain. He and Twain made a joint appearance that
The New York Times, on
October 30,
1901, said drew a crowd of more than 2,000. "Ten minutes before the opening of the meeting the rush of those trying to crowd into the already packed hall became so threatening that a half dozen policemen at the entrance were almost carried off their feet, and were forced, by way of precaution, to close the doors," said the Times. "Within the hall every available inch of space was called into requisition. Men and boys climbed up the latticework surrounding the elevator at one side of the hall, and climbed up on window sills and wherever there was an inch to give a foothold above the heads of the rest of the men."
Even though Low's first campaign for mayor of consolidated New York in 1897 was unsuccessful-partially because of a division among anti-Tammany Hall candidates and parties-he managed to attain office four years later.
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Low stands out as the first mayor of Greater New York to be elected on a
fusion ticket, with the support of both the
Citizens Union and
Republican parties. Some of his notable achievements include the introduction of a civil service system-based upon merit-for hiring municipal employees, reducing widespread graft within the
police department, improving the system of
education within the city, and lowering taxes. Despite these seemingly impressive achievements he only served for one year, and was defeated in 1903 by
George B. McClellan, Jr., the son of famous Civil War general-and failed Democratic candidate for president -
George Brinton McClellan.
Later life
He was chairman of the
Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama from
1907 until his death in
1916. From
1907, he was also president of the business-labour alliance, the
National Civic Federation. Even though he believed in collective bargaining rights, which had customarily been denied to labor unions by those in authority, he didn't favor strikes, but rather, embraced arbitration as a suitable labor-management negotiation tactic.
On
September 17,
1916, Low died in his home in
Bedford Hills, New York. Even his funeral demonstrated the ability of Low to reach political consensus, with honorary pallbearers that included both industrialist J.P. Morgan and labor activist and AFL founder Samuel Gompers.
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