Frederick Atherton
He entered Harvard in February 1884, and studied alongside Alanson B. Houghton, Augustus Peabody Gardner,[11] Horace Paul Thurlow, William Mark Noble, Irving Wetherbee Fay, Charles Samuel Babcock and Harold Taylor Chase in the Class of 1886.
[14] He was elected as a Republican candidate at a state level in 1895, in the footsteps of his paternal uncle,[15] and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 1896 legislature, in the 117th General Court for the 21st district.
Atherton was involved right from the inception, through concept, the campus design and build, onto the opening of the Wentworth Institute to fee paying students in 1911, and throughout the next 25 years of operation.
[19] There was much press coverage, as well as justifiable concerns amongst the directors of Wentworth Institute, and Boston Brahmin that the money should remain invested in the United States for educational purposes.
[20][21] Although it was not the sum Atherton had anticipated, the next eight years would bolster his reputation as a trustee within the field of education, and elevate his status in society.
By 1912, he was residing primarily in Washington, D.C., and moving within diplomatic and political circles, with Walter L. Fisher, the United States Secretary of the Interior, who would later send 5 of his sons to study at Harvard.
His prominence in society depended on how he managed his own assets (personal trusts), which emanated from inherited wealth, both from 19th century manufacturing, and financial enterprises in New England.
[2] Within his network of influence was Lucius Littauer, whose family source of wealth was manufactured leather products, whilst Atherton’s father had traded such goods.
[22] After spending a number of winter seasons in the Sixteenth Street Historic District, 1149 16th St became a permanent place of residence, where he moved in prominent circles.
[23] White had been a diplomat during the 1890s and 1900s who served as United States Ambassador to France and Italy, at this time was advocating for neutrality in the run up to the First World War, and would eventually be a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of hostilities.
[24] Over the next 25 years, newspaper accounts in the District of Columbia have captured how both Atherton and his wife moved prominently within social circles, by entertaining visiting European dignitaries, as well as having access to leading U.S. politicians and diplomatic alike.
[25][26][27] Since 1966, Harvard University has held an annual lecture related to ethical and social criticism in his honor, which indicates Atherton’s likely position at the time; his desire to improve educational standards and opportunities throughout the United States.
Often those meetings took place in informal settings or away from Washington, D.C. During a mid-season retreat to the New England coastline he was on the guest list for a function in honor of newly elected President Herbert Hoover.
[22] His wife, Ellen Atherton continued with their shared passion for educational philanthropy, in his memory, and remained a prominent socialite at charitable galas and events, and was a patron of the National Symphony Orchestra.
He remained living in the Atherton family home whilst an eligible bachelor, however focused his energies into managing diverse trusts.
A considerable amount of time and personal effort would have been expended by Atherton between 1904 and 1911 in order to make the Wentworth Institute a success.
He is likely to have known his future wife as a young man (from his days at preparatory school), since she was the daughter of the headmaster, Frederic W. Tilton; albeit 7 years his junior.
He eventually married Ellen “Maud” Tilton (1872–1965), at the age of 45, on April 8, 1911, at St. John’s Memorial Chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Since this occurred after admittance to Harvard University and grew more frequent, once married, it may have been chosen to honor his father-in-law, Frederic W. Tilton, his teacher at preparatory school.
[22] Whatever the reasoning behind this, it appears to likely have been a self-proclaimed decision or the elocution of his first name by either Ellen or himself; rather than a typographical error by a broad range of periodicals.
His Boston neighbors had included John Jacob Rogers, Frederic Adrian Delano and Anson Phelps Stokes.
[38] His former home in Washington, D.C., a Neo-Renaissance residence designed by Nathan C. Wyeth, was built in 1930;[39] and in 1958 it became the Headquarters of the Sons of the American Revolution.
