1. Ratcliffe Hicks was an American lawyer, industrialist, state legislator, and philanthropist from Tolland, Connecticut.
22 Facts About Ratcliffe Hicks
1. 2.
Ratcliffe Hicks's grandfather on his mother's side was a judge and state legislator from Tolland.
3.
Ratcliffe Hicks's grandfather on his father's side was a successful sea captain.
4.
Ratcliffe Hicks was a founding member of the Delta Upsilon chapter at Brown.
5.
Ratcliffe Hicks became a prominent attorney, litigating important cases and earning over $10,000 annually in legal fees, equivalent to $280,000 in 2020 dollars.
6.
Ratcliffe Hicks served as City Attorney of Meriden and Attorney for New Haven County.
7.
In 1891, Ratcliffe Hicks chaired the House Committee on Women's suffrage and supported a bill granting women the right to vote in local school board elections.
8.
Ratcliffe Hicks' father-in-law passed away in 1881, and Ratcliffe Hicks became the executor of the Stearns estate.
9.
In 1882, Ratcliffe Hicks withdrew from his law practice to become president of the Canfield Rubber Company of Bridgeport.
10.
Ratcliffe Hicks married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Canfield Parker on December 17,1879.
11.
Ratcliffe Hicks was the widow of Wilbur Parker and daughter of Jared and Mary Canfield of Middletown, Connecticut.
12.
Ratcliffe Hicks remarried on October 19,1895, to Isabella Wormer of Chicago.
13.
Ratcliffe Hicks died of pleuropneumonia in Interlaken, Switzerland, in 1906.
14.
Ratcliffe Hicks was reportedly so incensed at Brown's misspelling of his given name on his diploma that he cut the university out of his will, with the exception of a student scholarship.
15.
Ratcliffe Hicks did bequeath $10,000 to Yale University to fund student scholarships.
16.
Ratcliffe Hicks left $10,000 to the Tolland Public Library and a similar sum to build the Ratcliffe Hicks Memorial School in the Tolland Green Historic District.
17.
The school was built on the site of a former school where Ratcliffe Hicks had studied until the age of 13.
18.
Ratcliffe Hicks continued to dwell in the family home on Tolland Green after her father's death in 1906.
19.
Ratcliffe Hicks worked very closely with the University of Connecticut to develop the Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture.
20.
Ratcliffe Hicks spoke at the dedication ceremony for the school in 1950 and was known for hosting formal teas each spring with the students and campus leaders.
21.
Ratcliffe Hicks served on many local boards and committees, including the school's and library's, but never ran for political office.
22.
Ratcliffe Hicks died in 1974 and is buried in Tolland's North Cemetery.