March Birthdays for Former Library Leaders

Envelope mailed by Charles A. Cutter on Oct. 20, 1896

Below I have listed the significant birthdays in March for former American library leaders. All are included in the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 1978) or the 1990 Supplement.

Thomas Lynch Montgomery (1862-1929), 150th anniversary of birth on March 4. Served as State Librarian of Pennsylvania (1903-1921) and Librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (1921-1929).

Henry Augustus Homes (1812-1887), 200th anniversary of birth on March 10. Served as Supervisor of the General Library of New York State Library from 1862 to 1887. He was one of the three original Vice-Presidents of the American Library Association following its establishment in 1876.

Charles Ammi Cutter (1837-1903), 175th anniversary of birth on March 14. Served as Librarian of the Boston Athenaeum (1869-1893) and Librarian of the Forbes Library in Northampton, MA (1894-1903). He was a founding member of the American Library Association and served as President in 1887-1889. He is noted for his contribution to cataloging and classification in libraries. He was a contemporary and sometimes rival of Melvil Dewey.

James Bertram (1872-1934), 140th anniversary of birth on March 17. Bertram was Secretary to Andrew Carnegie and the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1897 to 1934. He played a major role in the distribution of Carnegie grants for library buildings in the United States and other Carnegie Corporation projects.

Nathan Van Patten (1887-1956), 125th anniversary of birth on March 24. Served as Librarian of Stanford University Libraries (1927-1947).

Guy Elwood Marion (1882-1969), 130th anniversary of birth on March 25. Served as librarian for several special libraries. He was a charter member of the Special Libraries Association and served it in several capacities including President in 1919.