Happy Birthday, Darwin D. Martin!

This Friday, October 25th, is  Darwin D. Martin's  birthday --  let's celebrate his many accomplishments.

Born in Bouckville, NY on 10/25/1865, Darwin Martin was deeply affected by his mother's death when he was just 6 years old.  His family split up shortly thereafter, and for the rest of his life, having a home and family was extremely important to Martin.

At the age of 12, Darwin Martin joined his brother Frank in the New Jersey-to-Boston area as a member of a door-to-door sales team (soap slings) for the Larkin Soap Company.

A year later (1879) he came to Buffalo and John Larkin gave him a job in the Larkin Company's office. Martin displayed a talent for mathematics, and a prodigious memory for details. He learned bookkeeping, and in 1886 Martin invented the card ledger system for keeping accounts,  thus eliminating large, unwieldy ledgers.

In 1893 he became secretary (the chief financial officer) of the Larkin Company,  when Elbert Hubbard retired at a young age,. Hubbard was a good friend and advisor to Martin.

Darwin Martin appears to have been a workaholic. In 1897 he had a nervous collapse from over-work, but by 1907 he had become a millionaire through wise investments. Martin's own diary in 1926 (the year Graycliff was commissioned for his wife, Isabelle from Frank Lloyd Wright) estimated his net worth at 2.5M  dollars.

Darwin D. Martin with grandchildren Margaret Foster and Darwin M. Foster at Graycliff, circa 1933.

Martin's association with Frank Lloyd Wright had begun in 1902, when he visited his brother William in Oak Park, IL  and was introduced to the architect   In 1903 Martin commissioned Wright to design a house for his sister Delta Barton and her family on a large lot in the Parkside area of Buffalo, and the following year Martin again commissioned Wright, this time to design  his own home on the same lot, at the corner of Summit Ave and Jewett Pkwy in Buffalo.

Twenty three years later, Wright designed the Martin's summer home, Graycliff, in Derby, NY

Wright and Martin maintained their friendship for 33 years, and Martin aided Mr. Wright innumerable times throughout their friendship.  Martin helped to fund the Wasmuth portfolio , made many personal loans, solicited work for Wright and was instrumental in creating WRIGHT Inc.  Martin gave Wright much advice, ranging from finances to publishing  Their friendship also included a lively exchange of ideas. 

Although Martin had very little formal education, he was was an avid learner throughout his life,  and acquired a sizable personal library of approximately 2,000 volumes.  His interest in  education lead to support for a number of educational institutions, especially the Pine Mountain Settlement in Kentucky, as well as a large number of scholarships.

Darwin Martin was very active in civic affairs, especially after his retirement.  He served on Boards of the Buffalo Historical Society, the NYS Historical Association, the Society of Natural Science (Buffalo Museum of Science), the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society (now the Buffalo Philharmonic), the Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo City Planning, and the Association for the Blind.

He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on December 17th, 1935.

Happy 148th Birthday, Darwin D. Martin!