John Woodruff Simpson
| John Woodruff Simpson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1850 U.S. |
| Died |
May 16, 1920 (aged 69–70) New York City |
| Alma mater |
Amherst College Columbia Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Seney Simpson |
| Children | Jean W. Simpson |
John Woodruff Simpson (1850 – May 16, 1920) was a founding member of law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, then titled Simpson, Thacher, & Barnum.[1] He and his wife were known as avid art collectors, with many pieces from their estate eventually going to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[2]
Biography
Simpson attended Amherst College, and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1873. He was formerly a law clerk at the old-line firm Alexander & Green. Along with his fellow former clerks Thomas Thacher and William M. Barnum, they organized their new law firm on January 1, 1884.[3]
Simpson was one of the founding members of the "good government" organization the City Club of New York.[4]
In the early 1900s Simpson commissioned a bronze sculpture by Moses Jacob Ezekiel in the likeness of the blind poet Homer (accompanied by a student guide), as as a gift for Amherst College, his alma mater.[5] For reasons unknown the gift was refused, and Thomas Nelson Page, a University of Virginia alumnus who was active in the UVA Alumni Association, stepped in to secure the gift of the statue to UVa instead.[6] The final sculpture, entitled Blind Homer With His Student Guide, was completed in 1907, and is currently installed on The Lawn, in the grass to the north of Old Cabell Hall.
Simpson died May 16, 1920, leaving an estate appraised in 1922 at $2,665,894.[1] Using several methods of computing the relative value of a U.S. dollar to the amount of his estate at the time of his death:[7]
| Value of estate in the 2007 Dollar | Method Used |
| $32,960,750.97 | Consumer Price Index |
| $27,294,202.19 | GDP Deflator |
| $183,091,250.35 | Nominal GDP per Capita |
Simpson's widow, Kate Seney Simpson, died in 1943.[2]
References
- 1 2 "Lawyer Left $2,665,894" (PDF). New York Times. January 10, 1922.
John W. Simpson, member of Simpson, Thacher D. Bartlett, lawyers, who died May 16, 1920, ...He gave the bulk estate to his wife, Kate Seney Simpson. and his daughter, Jean W. Simpson.
- 1 2 "Mrs. John W. Simpson". New York Times. January 12, 1943.
Kate Seney Simpson, the widow of John W. Simpson, New York lawyer, died yesterday in her home in East Craftsbury, Vt., after a short illness, ...
- ↑ Firm Website, History
- ↑ "CITY CLUB TO MARK 50TH ANNIVERSARY," New York Times (May 10, 1942).
- ↑ Bruce, Philip Alexander (1921). History of the University of Virginia V. p. 320.
- ↑ Roberts, Josie (2000-04-07). "Homer's Odyssey brings him to Lawn". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ↑ Williamson, Samuel; Lawrence H. Officer (2008). "Six Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present" (Calculator). admin@measuringworth.com. MeasuringWorth.Com. Retrieved 2008-03-19. Comparing Results]