Godfrey Lowell Cabot was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Boston Latin School. His father was Samuel Cabot III, an eminent surgeon, and his mother was Hannah Lowell Jackson Cabot.[1] He had seven siblings:[2] three being, Lilla Cabot (b. 1848), among the first American impressionist artists, Samuel Cabot IV[3] (b. 1850), chemist and founder of Cabot Stains, and Arthur Tracy Cabot (born 1852), a progressive surgeon.[4]
[edit]Godfrey Cabot (left) presenting a trophy to Secretary of the Navy
Cabot founded Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc. and its successor, Cabot Corporation, in 1882.[6] It became an industrial empire which included carbon black plants and tens of thousands of acres of land rich in gas, oil, and other minerals; 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of pipeline; seven corporations with worldwide operations; three facilities for converting natural gas into gasoline; and a number of research laboratories.
By 1890, Cabot Corporation, had become America's fourth-largest producer of carbon black, which was used in products, such as inks, shoe polishes, and paints. But with the subsequent advent and popularity of cars, carbon black became in much greater demand as six pounds of it was required in the production of a single tire, and Cabot's incomes soared.
K. queenslandicus at Harvard University which may have been reconstructed with too many vertebrae
While in his nineties, Cabot sponsored the restoration of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology's (MCZ) complete Kronosaurus skeleton. Having been interested in sea serpents since childhood[11] and thus often questioning MCZ director Alfred Romer about the existence and reports of sea serpents, it thus occurred to Dr. Romer to tell Mr. Cabot about the unexcavated Kronosaurus skeleton in the museum closet. Godfrey Cabot thus asked how much a restoration would cost and "Romer, pulling a figure out of the musty air, replied, 'Oh, about $10,000.'" Romer may not have been serious but the philanthropist clearly was because the check for said sum came shortly thereafter.[12][13] To this day, the application to the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences asks applicants, "Are you an employee of Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc. or any associated companies?"
While president, he wiretapped the office of district attorney Joseph C. Pelletier.[14] Cabot justified the recording device by saying he needed incriminating evidence to remove Pelletier from office.[15] The Society had also hired a private detective to keep the district attorney under surveillance for two years.[15] The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found Pelletier guilty of 10 of the 21 charges against him and removed him from office.[16]
^About the Exhibits by Elizabeth Hall and Max Hall (Museum of Comparative Zoology "Agazziz Museum" Harvard University. Third Edition, Copyright 1964, 1975, 1985, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
^The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (Hardcover) – October 26, 2004
^About the Exhibits by Elizabeth Hall and Max Hall (Museum of Comparative Zoology "Agazziz Museum" Harvard University. Third Edition, Copyright 1964, 1975, 1985, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
