Collyer brothers

Homer Collyer
Homer Collyer, 1939, arguing with police officers
Born	Homer Lusk Collyer (1881-11-06)November 6, 1881 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	March 21, 1947(1947-03-21) (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Starvation and heart disease
Resting place	Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn
Nationality	American
Education	PS 69
Alma mater	College of the City of New York Columbia University
Occupation	Lawyer

Langley Collyer
Langley Collyer (right) with attorney, 1946
Born	Langley Wakeman Collyer (1885-10-03)October 3, 1885 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	c. March 9, 1947(1947-03-09) (aged 61) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Asphyxiation
Resting place	Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University

Collyer Brothers Park
Type	Pocket Park
Location	2078 Fifth Avenue
Nearest city	New York, New York
Coordinates	40°48′30″N 73°56′27″W / 40.808395°N 73.940834°W / 40.808395; -73.940834
Area	1,500 square feet (140 m2)

Homer Lusk Collyer (November 6, 1881 – March 21, 1947) and Langley Wakeman Collyer (October 3, 1885 – c. March 9, 1947), known as the Collyer brothers, were two American brothers who became infamous for their bizarre natures and compulsive hoarding. For decades, the two lived in seclusion in their Harlem brownstone at 2078 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of 128th Street) where they obsessively collected books, furniture, musical instruments, and myriad other items, with booby traps set up in corridors and doorways to ensnare intruders. In March 1947, both were found dead in their home surrounded by over 140 tons of collected items that they had amassed over several decades.

Since the 1960s, the site of the former Collyer house has been a pocket park, named for the brothers.

The Collyer brothers were sons of Herman Livingston Collyer (1857–1923), a Manhattan gynecologist who worked at Bellevue Hospital, and his first cousin, Susie Gage Frost (1856–1929), a former opera singer. The brothers claimed that their ancestors had traveled to America from England on the Fortune, the ship that arrived in Massachusetts a year after the Mayflower in 1621. The Collyers' mother was descended from the Livingstons, a New York family with roots going back to the 18th century. Robert Livingston was the first of the Livingston family to immigrate to America in 1672 – 52 years after the Mayflower. In 1880, Herman and Susie had their first child, a daughter they named Susan. She died at four months old. The following year, on November 6, the couple's first son, Homer Lusk, was born. In 1885 their second son, Langley Wakeman, was born. At the time of Langley's birth, the couple were living in a tenement while Herman Collyer interned at Bellevue. As a child, Homer attended PS (Public School) 69. At the age of 14, he was accepted to the College of the City of New York as a "sub-freshman", earning his bachelor's degree six years later.