Herrick, Myron T. (Myron Timothy) (1854-1929)
Dates
- Existence: 1854 - 1929
Biography
Myron T. Herrick, businessman, lawyer, politician and diplomat, was a member of the CMA Advisory Council from just after the museum’s incorporation to his death in 1929. He gifted twenty-two prints by Joseph Pennell related to the construction of the Panama Canal in 1921. They were featured in a memorial exhibition of Pennell’s work at the CMA in 1927.
Herrick is best known as the Republican governor of Ohio (1903-1905) and two-time appointee as ambassador to France (1912-1914, 1920-1929). Born in Lorain County, Ohio, he attended Ohio Wesleyan College before studying law in Cleveland. He married Carolyn M. Parmely in 1880; they had one son. Herrick was admitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced law until 1886, when he organized the Euclid Avenue National Bank and began his long association with Society for Savings. He used his legal and financial influence, along with other investors, to control and expand various railroads of Ohio and the nation. He served on Cleveland City Council from 1885-1890 and was involved in William McKinley’s presidential candidacy.
President Taft appointed Herrick to his diplomatic post in France in 1912. Although Herrick was replaced as ambassador in 1914, he remained in France after the outbreak of the First World War, evacuating stranded Americans out of Europe and providing relief to war victims. He returned to Cleveland and led civic committees organized for the war effort. In 1921 President Harding reappointed Herrick as ambassador to France. Herrick served as ambassador until his death in 1929. He was accorded a state funeral in Paris and was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
Sources
Ingalls Library Clipping file
“Herrick, Myron Timothy,” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University, accessed May 2, 2025, https://case.edu/ech/articles/h/herrick-myron-timothy
Cleveland Museum of Art, online catalog, accessed April 30, 2025, https://www.clevelandart.org/art/collection/search?search=joseph+pennell
David Kachinko. “Myron T. Herrick, Cleveland’s Forgotten Railroad Baron.” Cleveland Historical, accessed May 2, 2025, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/679
“Gov. Myron Timothy Herrick,” National Governors Association, accessed May 14, 2025, https://www.nga.org/governor/myron-timothy-herrick/.
-Biography by Anne Cuyler Salsich, May 2025