Archer Milton Huntington
Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, and made numerous contributions to the American Geographical Society.[1][2]
Archer Milton Huntington
March 10, 1870
December 11, 1955 (aged 85)
He was also a major benefactor of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Numismatic Society. He convinced the latter to relocate next to the Hispanic Society and the Geographical Society at the Beaux Arts Audubon Terrace complex in upper Manhattan. In 1932, he and sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, then his wife, founded the Brookgreen Gardens sculpture center in South Carolina in association with the antebellum Brookgreen Plantation; and the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia; it is one of the largest maritime museums in the world.
Huntington grew up in a wealthy family: he was the son of Arabella (née Duval) Huntington and the adopted son of her husband Collis P. Huntington, a railroad magnate and industrialist. He may have been Collis Huntington's biological son.
Huntington was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1918 and the American Philosophical Society in 1930.[3][4]
American Geographical Society[edit]
In 1894 Archer Huntington became a Fellow of the American Geographical Society and a Councilor in 1904, the same year he founded the Hispanic Society of America. In 1907, Huntington was elected President of the American Geographical Society.[9] Huntington donated land on Audubon Terrace to the AGS in 1911 and “contributed the greater part of the cost of construction” for the new building himself; Huntington also provided generous financial assistance to the AGS throughout his tenure as member.[9]
Huntington was one of the Society's most influential leaders; he provided new facilities which enabled the AGS to expand its “staff, collections, and activities,” arranged for the AGS to conduct a transcontinental excursion for geographers around the world in 1912, balanced the Society's budget, expanded its library, coordinated a collaboration between the AGS and the Association of American Geographers, and selected Isaiah Bowman as the first Director of the American Geographical Society.[9]
Huntington was also responsible for the acquisition of the American Geographical Society Library's oldest world map: the Leardo Mappamundi.[10] Huntington donated the 15th century map to the AGS of NY in 1906 and the map now resides in the American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In a letter honoring Huntington after his death in 1955, the Society stated that Huntington would be remembered for his work bringing many institutions together with “academic dignity and repose.” [11]
Family[edit]
Huntington had several cousins who became prominent, including the New York City architect Charles P. Huntington. His cousin Henry E. Huntington founded the renowned The Huntington Library, Art Museums, and Botanical Gardens in California.