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List of presidents of the New York Public Library

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The president of the New York Public Library is the chief executive officer of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and exercises general supervision over its affairs. The president is elected yearly by the New York Public Library Board of Trustees. John Bigelow was the first president from the library's founding in 1895 to his death in 1911. Anthony Marx has been the president since 2011.[2] The president (as of 2011) received a salary of $781,000.[1]

President of the
New York Public Library
Incumbent
Anthony Marx
since July 11, 2011 (2011-07-11)
New York Public Library
AppointerThe New York Public Library Board of Trustees
Formation1895
First holderJohn Bigelow
Salary$781,000 (as of 2011)[1]

Upon the urging of Bigelow, an executor of Samuel J. Tilden's will, the NYPL was formed when the Lenox and Astor libraries merged in 1895. Both the Astor and the Lenox maintained presidents for the duration of their existence. The three libraries have had a total of twenty presidents.[3] Historically, presidents of the libraries have been both wealthy and prominent individuals, such as author and diplomat Washington Irving; Governor of New York, United States Secretary of State, and United States Senator Hamilton Fish; and businessman John Stewart Kennedy. Additionally, several prominent lawyers were president, including John Lambert Cadwalader, George L. Rives, Lewis Cass Ledyard, and Frank Polk. It was customary for presidents to serve until their deaths until Morris Hadley resigned in 1958. Subsequently, all presidents have resigned before their deaths, with the exception of Timothy S. Healy.

The Lenox Library was founded in 1870 by James Lenox, who served as its president until his death in 1880. After Lenox's death, his son Robert Lenox Kennedy succeeded him and served for seven years before being replaced by John S. Kennedy, who would serve until the merging of the libraries in 1895. The Astor Library was founded in 1848, at the behest of Joseph Cogswell. Its prime benefactor was John Jacob Astor, who left $400,000 to the library. On February 14, 1849, the trustees of the library met and elected their first president, Washington Irving, who would serve until his death in 1859. After Irving, William Blackhouse Astor was elected, and subsequently Alexander Hamilton Jr., Hamilton Fish, and Thomas M. Markoe (the last of whom served until the merging of the Astor into NYPL).[4] The NYPL has since had twelve presidents.

Astor Library

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Presidents of the Astor Library
No. Image President Term Term length Ref
1

 

Washington Irving 1849–1859 10 years [5]
2

 

William Astor 1860–1875 15 years [5]
3

 

Alexander Hamilton Jr. 1876–1889 13 years [5]
4   Hamilton Fish Acting, 1890–1891 1 year [5]
5 – Thomas Markoe 1891–1895 4 years [6]

Lenox Library

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Presidents of the Lenox Library
No. Image President Term Term length Ref
1

 

James Lenox 1870–1880 10 years [7]
2   Robert Lenox Kennedy 1880–1887 7 years [7]
3   John Stewart Kennedy 1887–1895 8 years [7]

New York Public Library

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Presidents of the NYPL
No. Image President Term Term length Ref(s)
1   John Bigelow May 27, 1895 – December 19, 1911 16 years, 6 months, 22 days [8]
2   John Lambert Cadwalader December 19, 1911 – March 11, 1914 2 years, 2 months, 20 days [9]
3   George L. Rives May 13, 1914 – August 18, 1917 3 years, 5 months, 4 days [10]
4   Lewis Cass Ledyard December 12, 1917 – January 12, 1932 14 years, 1 month, 0 days [11]
5   Frank Polk April 13, 1932 – February 7, 1943 10 years, 9 months, 25 days [12]
6   Morris Hadley February 8, 1943 – January 8, 1958 14 years, 11 months, 0 days [13][14]
7 – Gilbert W. Chapman January 8, 1959 – February 1, 1971 12 years, 1 month, 0 days [15]
8 – Richard W. Couper February 1, 1971 – July 1, 1981 10 years, 5 months, 0 days [16]
9   Vartan Gregorian July 1, 1981 – December 1, 1989 8 years, 5 months, 0 days [17]
10   Timothy S. Healy December 1, 1989 – December 30, 1992 3 years, 0 months, 29 days [18]
11   Paul LeClerc December 1, 1993 – July 1, 2011 17 years, 7 months, 0 days [19][20][21]
12   Anthony Marx July 11, 2011 – Present 13 years, 4 months and 11 days [22][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Pogrebin, Robin. "Library Reveals President's Salary". New York Times ArtsBeat. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  2. ^ "Bylaws: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations" (PDF).
  3. ^ "History of The New York Public Library". The New York Public Library. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Lydenburg, Harry Miller (1923). History of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The New York Public Library.
  5. ^ a b c d "Astor Library records". New York Public Library Archives. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Columbia University Quarterly. Columbia University Press. 1902.
  7. ^ a b c Annual Report of the Trustees of the Lenox Library, New York. Lenox Library (New York City). 1895. pp. 1–5.
  8. ^ "Bulletin of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. v.1 1897". HathiTrust. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "Founding Members' records". New York Public Library Archives. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "Bulletin of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. v.15 1911". HathiTrust. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  11. ^ "Bulletin of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. v.36 1932". HathiTrust. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  12. ^ "Bulletin of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. v.47 1943". HathiTrust. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  13. ^ "Morris Hadley, Began Law Firm". The New York Times. 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  14. ^ "Bulletin of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. v.62 1958". HathiTrust. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  15. ^ Waggoner, Walter H. (December 18, 1978). "G. Chapman, 77, Led Public Library". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  16. ^ Fox, Margalit (2006). "Richard W. Couper, 83, First Full-Time Library Chief, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Lionheart" Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Stanford Magazine (retrieved March 31, 2018).
  18. ^ "Celebrating the Life of Timothy S Healy: a Biblion: Bulletin of the New York Public Library vol. 2, no.1, Fall, 1993. pp. 177–191.
  19. ^ Grimes, William (May 10, 1995). "At Work With: Paul LeClerc; A Quiet Power at the Library". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  20. ^ Cohen, Patricia (November 18, 2009). "Public Library Leader, Paul LeClerc, to Leave". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  21. ^ "UN General Assembly President". United Nations. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  22. ^ Taylor, Kate. "Amherst President is Expected to Be Named Chief of the New York Public Library," The New York Times. October 6, 2010
  23. ^ "New York Public Library Names Dr. Anthony Marx Next President". The New York Public Library. Retrieved October 15, 2017.

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