Griffith J. Griffith
| Griffith J. Griffith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Griffith Jenkins Griffith January 4, 1850 Bettws, Glamorganshire, Wales |
| Died | July 6, 1919 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California |
| Cause of death | Liver disease |
| Resting place |
Hollywood Memorial Cemetery Los Angeles |
| Other names | Colonel Griffith J. Griffith |
| Occupation |
Journalist Mining and real estate magnate |
| Known for | Philanthropy |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer (1887–1904, divorced) |
| Children | Van M. Griffith (1888–1974) |
Griffith Jenkins Griffith (January 4, 1850 – July 6, 1919) was a Welsh-American industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated 3,015 acres (12.20 km2) to the City of Los Angeles which became Griffith Park, and he bequeathed the money to build the park's Greek Theatre and Griffith Observatory. Griffith's legacy was marred by his notorious shooting of his wife in 1903, a crime for which he served two years in prison.
Griffith J. Griffith was born in Bettws, Glamorganshire, Wales, on January 4, 1850. He immigrated to the United States in 1865, settling in Ashland, Pennsylvania. In 1873 he moved to San Francisco, California, and became manager of the Herald Publishing Company. In 1887 he married Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer (1864–1948).
In 1878 G. J. Griffith became mining correspondent for the Alta California, a San Francisco newspaper. As a reporter he gained extensive knowledge of the mining industry on the Pacific Coast and in Nevada, which led to his employment by various mining syndicates. As a mining expert, Griffith acquired a fortune.
In 1882 Griffith moved to Los Angeles and purchased approximately 4,000 acres (16 km2) of the Rancho Los Feliz Mexican land grant. On December 16, 1896, Griffith and his wife Christina presented 3,015 acres (12.20 km2) of the Rancho Los Feliz to the city of Los Angeles for use as a public park. Griffith called it "a Christmas present." After accepting the donation, the city passed an ordinance to name the property Griffith Park, in honor of the donor.
"It must be made a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people," Griffith told the Los Angeles City Council when he donated the land. "I consider it my obligation to make Los Angeles a happy, cleaner, and finer city. I wish to pay my debt of duty in this way to the community in which I have prospered."
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