Martin A. Ryerson was an American, lawyer, businessman, philanthropist and art collector.
Background
Martin A. Ryerson was born in 1856 in Michigan. His father, Martin L. Ryerson, was a lumber baron in Michigan forests who invested in real estate in Downtown Chicago. His mother, Mary Ann Campau, was the niece of Louis Campau, the founder of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Ryerson grew up in Chicago.
Education
Educated Chicago public schools, Paris, France, Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Bachelor of Laws, Harvard, 1878. Honorary Master of Arts, Yale, 1917.
Doctor of Laws, Kenyon College, 1924, University of Chicago, 1929.
Career
Heir to a considerable fortune, he was a lumber manufacturer and corporate director He became the richest man in Chicago by the age of 36. A long-time trustee of the University of Chicago, he made large charitable contributions for the construction of buildings on campus.
He bequeathed his extensive art collection to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Ryerson started his career as a lawyer In 1880, he joined the family business, working for his father, who owned the only remaining lumberyard in Chicago in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
As a lumber manufacturer, Ryerson was Chicago"s richest man by the age of thirty-six. Ryerson served on the Boards of Directors of the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company, Northern Trust, and the Elgin National Watch Company.
Ryerson served as the President of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago from 1892 to 1922.
He donated over $2 million to the university, including $350,000 for the construction of the Ryerson Physical Laboratory and $25,000 for the establishment of the Harper Memorial Library on campus. Additionally, he endowed the Ryerson Distinguished Service Professorship in 1925. Ryerson served on the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.
He served as honorary President of the Art Institute of Chicago.
He also served as the Vice President of the Field Columbian Museum from 1894. He donated $300,000 to build the Ryerson Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Ryerson maintained an art collection. He was the owner of five paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and sixteen paintings by Claude Monet.
He also collected paintings by Old Masters.
Ryerson died on August 11, 1932 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He was buried in the Martin Ryerson Tomb at the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $5 million, $3 million of which was invested in real estate.
Upon his death, he bequeathed the entire sum to charities, family members and former employees.
Foreign example, his widow inherited one tenth, $500,000, as well as an annual income of $200,000. His art collection was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Edward West. Forbes served as the Ryerson Professor in the Fine Arts at Harvard University from 1935 to 1944.