Andrew Haswell Green

Andrew Haswell Green (October 6, 1820 – November 13, 1903) was a lawyer, New York City planner, and civic leader. He is considered "the Father of Greater New York," and is responsible for Central Park, the New York Public Library, the Bronx Zoo, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also participated in or led significant projects, such as Riverside Drive, Morningside Park, Fort Washington Park, and protecting the Hudson River Palisades from destruction. His last project was the consolidation of the "Imperial City" or City of Greater New York; he chaired the 1897 committee that drew up the plan of amalgamation. Early years Green was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 6, 1820, one of 11 children. In 1835, he moved to New York City, where two of his sisters ran a school for young girls. One of his brothers was Samuel Fisk Green, a medical missionary of the American Ceylon Mission in Sri Lanka. Green started work in the mercantile trade and befriended a local merchant, who subsequently hired him to manage his sugar refining plantation in Trinidad. Green lived there for about a year, where he kept a daily diary of his activities and thoughts. Green returned to Worcester for a few years before returning to New York City to pursue a legal career. Career In 1845, Green became a lawyer under the tutelage of railroad attorney and future U.S. presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The two met at a party and became fast friends, along with Tilden's law partner John Bigelow. In 1854, Green was elected to the New York City school board. He became its president a year later.