The president of the New York Public Library is the chief executive officer of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and exercises general supervision over its affairs. The president is elected yearly by the New York Public Library Board of Trustees. John Bigelow was the first president from the library's founding in 1895 to his death in 1911. Anthony Marx has been the president since 2011. The president () received a salary of $781,000.
Upon the urging of Bigelow, an executor of Samuel J. Tilden's will, the NYPL was formed when the Lenox and Astor libraries merged in 1895. Both the Astor and the Lenox maintained presidents for the duration of their existence. The three libraries have had a total of twenty presidents. Historically, presidents of the libraries have been both wealthy and prominent individuals, such as author and diplomat Washington Irving; Governor of New York, United States Secretary of State, and United States Senator Hamilton Fish; and businessman John Stewart Kennedy. Additionally, several prominent lawyers were president, including John Lambert Cadwalader, George L. Rives, Lewis Cass Ledyard, and Frank Polk. It was customary for presidents to serve until their deaths until Morris Hadley resigned in 1958. Subsequently, all presidents have resigned before their deaths, with the exception of Timothy S. Healy.
The Lenox Library was founded in 1870 by James Lenox, who served as its president until his death in 1880. After Lenox's death, his son Robert Lenox Kennedy succeeded him and served for seven years before being replaced by John S. Kennedy, who would serve until the merging of the libraries in 1895. The Astor Library was founded in 1848, at the behest of Joseph Cogswell. Its prime benefactor was John Jacob Astor, who left $400,000 to the library. On February 14, 1849, the trustees of the library met and elected their first president, Washington Irving, who would serve until his death in 1859. After Irving, William Blackhouse Astor was elected, and subsequently Alexander Hamilton Jr., Hamilton Fish, and Thomas M. Markoe (the last of whom served until the merging of the Astor into NYPL).Lydenburg, Harry Miller (1923). History of the New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The New York Public Library. The NYPL has since had twelve presidents.
Astor Library + Presidents of the Astor LibraryNo.ImagePresidentTermTerm lengthRef11849–185910 years21860–187515 years31876–188913 years4Acting, 1890–18911 year5 –1891–18954 years
Lenox Library + Presidents of the Lenox LibraryNo.ImagePresidentTermTerm lengthRef 11870–188010 years 21880–18877 years 31887–18958 years
New York Public Library +Presidents of the NYPLNo.ImagePresidentTermTerm lengthRef(s)1May 27, 1895 – December 19, 191116 years, 6 months, 22 days2December 19, 1911 – March 11, 19142 years, 2 months, 20 days3 May 13, 1914 – August 18, 19173 years, 5 months, 4 days4December 12, 1917 – January 12, 193214 years, 1 month, 0 days5April 13, 1932 – February 7, 194310 years, 9 months, 25 days6February 8, 1943 – January 8, 195814 years, 11 months, 0 days7 –January 8, 1959 – February 1, 197112 years, 1 month, 0 days8 –February 1, 1971 – July 1, 198110 years, 5 months, 0 days9 July 1, 1981 – December 1, 19898 years, 5 months, 0 days"The Lionheart" . Stanford Magazine (retrieved March 31, 2018).10 December 1, 1989 – December 30, 19923 years, 0 months, 29 days"Celebrating the Life of Timothy S Healy: a Biblion: Bulletin of the New York Public Library vol. 2, no.1, Fall, 1993. pp. 177–191.11 December 1, 1993 – July 1, 201117 years, 7 months, 0 days12July 1, 2011 – PresentTaylor, Kate. "Amherst President is Expected to Be Named Chief of the New York Public Library," The New York Times. October 6, 2010
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