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ISAAC LEOPOLD
RICE was born in Bavaria, Germany, February 22d, 1850, son of Mayer and
Fanny (Sohn) Rice. In
1856 the family emigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia, Pa. He
received his early education at the Central
High School of Philadelphia and at the age of sixteen returned to Europe and
entered the Conservatoire Nationale, Paris,
where he worked untiringly for several years, his studies including harmony and
counterpoint, piano and other musical
instruments and vocal music.
During this time he acted as correspondent for the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. After a concert tour through Germany and
a visit to England, where, at the age of nineteen, he gained his first chess
prize at the Manchester Chess Club, he returned
to New York and settled down to the drudgery of teaching music, in order to
support his parents, brothers and sister.
In addition to the daily ten hours of teaching, this tireless worker produced
many songs and orchestral and piano
compositions. He studied many languages, including Latin, which he read with the
utmost ease; he contributed articles to
various magazines and newspapers and he wrote "What is Music?" now considered a
classic.
In 1878, Dr. Rice, without interrupting his
other pursuits, entered the Columbia Law School, graduating in two years with
the highest honors. In 1882, Dr. Rice became a member of the faculty of
political science of Columbia University, and for
four years devoted his energies to organizing and establishing the school of
political science and economy. In 1886 Dr.
Rice severed his connection with Columbia University, and entered upon the
practice of law.
Fairly launched upon his new career, he won
the fight for the bondholders of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad Company
and was instrumental in reorganizing the corporation, avoiding the assessment
and enabling the company to raise all the
money wanted by voluntary subscription. He also reorganized the St. Louis and
Southwestern Railway and the Texas
Pacific Railroad. Subsequently he became counsel and director in the Richmond
Terminal and Richmond-Danville and
Eastern Tennessee systems and of the Georgia Company, controlled by the Central
Railway and Banking Company of
Georgia, properties which now constitute the Southern Railroad. He scored still
another triumph when he formed the plan
of settling the difficulties of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company
through the organization of a new company
called the "Reading Company."
Dr. Rice was virtually the founder of the
storage battery industry in the United States and was president of the first
company organized to promote it. Likewise he was founder of the electric
automobile industry by virtue of his organizing
the Electric Vehicle Company, of which he became the first president. He brought
the first motor driven vehicle to New
York City and for some time carried on a spirited campaign to have it allowed
upon the parkway. He organized and
became president of the Electric Boat Company, which purchased the Holland
Torpedo Boat Company. The
Consolidated Railway Lighting and Refrigerating Company, of which he was
president; the Casein Company of America
and the Forum Publishing Company are other evidences of his untiring energies in
the field of business promotion. The
many executive positions filled by him included those of president and director,
Electric Boat Co., Holland Torpedo
Boat Co., Electric Launch Co., Industrial Oxygen Co., New Jersey Development
Co., Societe Franchise de Sous-Marins,
of Paris, France; Consolidated Railway Lighting and Refrigerating Co.,
Consolidated Railway Electric Lighting and
Equipment Co., Railway and Stationary Refrigerating Co., Lindstrom Brake Co.,
president, treasurer and director, Casein
Co., National Milk Sugar Co., Dry Milk Co., Rosemary Creamery Co., Quaker City
Chemical Co., Casein Mfg. Co.,
Chairman Board of Directors, Consolidated Rubber Tire Co., Chicago Electric
Traction Co., and The Heating and Power
Co. Dr. Rice was a member of the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania, the Bar
Association of the City of New York, the
Lawyers', Harmonic, Automobile, and Lotus Clubs of New York City; Union League
of Chicago, and City Liberal Club
of London. As a man of letters, Dr. Rice contributed many able articles to the
North American Review, Forum and Century.
In 1912 Dr. Rice was elected a life member of the Albany Burgesses Corps, the
oldest veteran military command in the
United States. In 1902 Bates College conferred upon Dr. Rice the honorary Degree
of Doctor of Laws in recognition of
his work in the field of electric industry.
He was a great chess enthusiast and
organized the Triangular College Chess League, to which for many years he
contributed the prizes. He invented the Rice Gambit, (a chess opening), now
known all over the world, and organized
many chess clubs. His gift of the international trophy, valued in the
neighborhood of $1,300, which was contested for in
many matches by Oxford and Cambridge representing England, and, at various
times, by Columbia, Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Cornell, Brown and Pennsylvania representing America, will ever stand
as a monument to his all-absorbing
passion for promoting and encouraging chess in educational institutions.
In addition to those named, other colleges, such as New York University, the
College of the City of New York, Hamilton
and Johns Hopkins, as well as the High School League in New York, were made the
recipients of valuable championship
chess tables, on which were placed silver medals to receive the proper
inscriptions as tournaments were decided and titles
changed hands.
Dr. Rice provided all of the trophies of the
Triangular College Chess League and many of those placed in competition by
the New York State Association. The property trunk of the latter association,
containing a full outfit of playing
paraphernalia, was provided largely with funds contributed by him. Dr. Rice gave
more money to the cause of chess than
any man who ever lived.
In 1885, Dr. Rice married Julia Hyneman
Barnett, daughter of Nathaniel Barnett, of New Orleans, La., a woman of
exceptional talents and unusual personality from whom his ambitious efforts and
energies received their most valuable
assistance and encouragement. Mrs. Rice was graduated from the Woman's Medical
College of New York, in 1885. She
came into international prominence in 1905 by reason of the able campaign she
waged against unnecessary noises in the
city, and she inaugurated the national movement for a safe and sane observance
of the Fourth of July in place of the old
barbarous celebration of the day. Mrs. Rice was particularly interested in the
new movement for public recreation
centers in the City of New York, in parks, playgrounds for children and the
little farm schools and outdoor
kindergarten centers.
Dr. and Mrs. Rice had six children, Isaac
Leopold Jr., Julian, Muriel, Dorothy, Marion and Marjorie Rice. Dr. Rice died
November 2d, 1915, a man of strong personality and remarkably keen judgment
whose hand was ever ready to help
those requiring assistance.
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