CLARK, HAROLD TERRY (4 Sept. 1882-31 May 1965), a Cleveland lawyer and philanthropist, was born in Derby, Conn., son of William J. and Mary J. (Terry) Clark. He graduated from Yale College with an A.B. (1903) and from Harvard Law School with an LL.B. (1906). Admitted to the Connecticut and Ohio bars, Clark settled in Cleveland in 1906, working with SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY, becoming a member of the firm in 1913. In 1937, Clark opened his own law office, specializing in corporate and probate law. During WORLD WAR I he served the U.S. War Industries Board and after the war, the American Commission to Negotiate Peace. Clark designed the corporate structure of the Glidden Co. and Fisher Bros. Foods, and served as a director for CLEVELAND QUARRIES, FISHER FOODS, the CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING CO., and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and as a trustee of Society Natl. Bank.
Clark guided millions of dollars to institutions. During the Depression and WORLD WAR II, Clark kept the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY in operating funds. He preserved Mentor Marsh, promoted relocation of Holden Arboretum to Kirtland, helped transform BROOKSIDE PARK into a fine zoo, and influenced formation of the Metropolitan Park System. As vice-president and trustee of the CLEVELAND SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND, Clark promoted sight-saving and Braille classes. Clark was the 1958 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award for Civic Service to Cleveland awarded by the JEWISH COMMUNITY FEDERATION. In 1961 the Cleveland Museum of Natural History began awarding the Harold T. Clark Medal to those "whose achievements inspire a love and respect for nature." Clark married Mary Sanders in 1911. She died in 1936, leaving 6 children, David, Mary, John, William, Annie, and Margaret. In 1940 Clark married Marie Odenkirk. He died in Cleveland and was buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.
Finding aid for the HAROLD T. CLARK PAPERS, SERIES I, WRHS.
Finding aid for the HAROLD T. CLARK PAPERS, SERIES II, WRHS.