Harlow N. Higinbotham (1838-1919) Harlow Higinbotham’s contributions to the founding and early success of The Field Museum have not been sufficiently recognized. From his origins in Joliet, Illinois where his descendants still reside, Higinbotham charted a business career that brought him to a position with the Field, Palmer & Leiter dry goods company in 1865. His recognized talent and focus quickly earned his partnership in 1868 in that firm’s successor, Field, Leiter & Co., and ultimately partnership in Marshall Field & Co. from 1881 to 1901. Higinbotham was exemplary in the commitment to civic activity that has characterized the Chicago business community. When Chicago secured the celebration of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Higinbotham became involved in all aspects of organizing the Fair. He was among the Chicago civic leaders who traveled the world, encouraging the participation of all nations, and forwarding the goal of the Fair – the creation of a great museum of natural history. His decisiveness and leadership led to his appointment as President of the Exposition, and in that capacity his recognized skills in business organization, finance and credit enabled him to almost single-handedly avert the financial failure of that vast undertaking. Higinbotham was a key player in attaining the charter for the Columbian Museum of Chicago in September, 1893. Following Marshall Field’s subsequent gift of $1,000,000 to guarantee creation of the Field Columbian Museum, Higinbotham made the second-largest individual gift and also bought for the new museum such Exposition collections as the Tiffany gems and the George Frederick Kunz gemology and mineralogy library. Under the Museum’s first president, Edward Ayer, Higinbotham served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and succeeded Ayer as the second president of the Museum, from 1897 to 1909. As president Higinbotham steered the planning for the Museum’s new site and new building, which his successor, President Stanley Field, brought to completion. We recognize Higinbotham’s contributions to the Museum and to Chicago in naming our online catalog "Harlow". Access Harlow