Thomas Rickard

Thomas Rickard (1866–1911) was a mining engineer,[1] an early resident of Berkeley, California, and served as the last President of the Town Board of Trustees from 1903 to 1909,[2] before the new city charter went into effect, creating the office of Mayor.

Thomas Rickard
BornAugust 28, 1866
France
DiedMarch 25, 1911
OccupationMining engineer
Spouse(s)Alice Whitmore
ChildrenLeontine (1889–1991), Helen (b.Jun.1891), Donald (1894–1915), and Thomas, Jr. (1899–1927)
Parent(s)Reuben Rickard, Mary E Humphereys

Rickard was born in France on August 28, 1866 to Reuben Rickard and Mary E Humphreys.[2] Both of his parents were English-born.[3] He immigrated to the United States with his family in the 1875.[2] In 1889 he married his wife Alice Whitmore.[2] They had four children: Leontine (b. May 1889), Helen (b. June 1891), Donald (b. August 1894), and Thomas, Jr. (b. January 1899).[2][3]

Rickard had a cousin whose name was also Thomas,[1] but regularly used his middle initial "A" (for Arthur). Thomas A. Rickard was a prominent writer on the subject of mining,[4] who, in 1896, was appointed by the Governor to the position of State Geologist of Colorado. He served in that position until 1901.[5]

Rickard graduated from the University of California in 1887,[1] with a degree in mining engineering.[2] From 1901 until his death, he served as vice president of the San Francisco mining firm of Harron, Rickard and McCone.[2] He also served as a trustee of the California Institute for the Deaf and Blind,[2] located in Berkeley.

Rickard's father Reuben Rickard[1] also served as President of the Town Board of Trustees in Berkeley from 1891 to 1893 and again for about a month in 1895.[6] He was also a mining engineer, having worked throughout the western United States.[2] Thomas' brother Edgar Rickard[1] was the editor of a mining newspaper in London and a close acquaintance of Herbert Hoover.[7]

Thomas Rickard died on March 25, 1911.[1][8] His wife died September 10, 1945 in San Joaquin County. Although she had remarried, she and Thomas are memorialised together at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.[9]

References
  1. "Obituary Thomas Rickard". Mining and Scientific Press. Vol. 102 no. 13. San Francisco, California: Dewey Publishing Company. 1 April 1911. p. 483. Archived from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  2. Irvine, Leigh H., ed. (1905). A history of the new California, its resources and people. New York, Chicago: The Lewis publishing company. pp. 789–790. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. U.S. Census, Alameda County, California, 1900 and 1910
  4. Kirshenbaum, Noel W. (April 1, 1999). "T.A. Rickard and his California Connections". Samuel Knight Chapter - SIA, Newsletter. No. 8. Samuel Knight Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12.
  5. "T. A. Rickard (Deceased 1953)". American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. AIME. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. "In Memorium". Berkeley Gazette. Berkeley, California. Feb 29, 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. "Edgar Rickard biographical sketch". Hoover & Truman. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on 2007-05-19. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. Berkeley Gazette, March 25, 1911
  9. Thomas Rickard at Find a Grave


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