City of Lawrence founder
Could have been President

Abbott Lawrence (1792-1855) was a man of many achievements.
* He was one of Harvard’s biggest contributors during the early 1800s, but he 
never attended a single day of college anywhere.
* He fell one vote shy of becoming the Vice-President of the United States, 
which might have led him becoming the nation’s president.
* He founded a major New England industrial center by carving out a city from 
portions of Andover and Methuen.
* During the 1840s, he was instrumental in the building the largest dam in the 
world.
Lawrence was born in Groton, Mass., the seventh child of a prominent 
Revolutionary War officer. His formal education ended upon graduation from 
Groton Academy (now Lawrence Academy). He and his brother, Amos, became 
wealthy merchants, specializing in imports from Great Britain and China.
Later, their interest turned to textile manufacturing, and are often cited as 
founders of New England’s textile industry.
While Lawrence did not pursue a college education, he became a major 
benefactor to several institutions of higher learning. He provided the funds 
for the creation of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard College, which 
is known today as the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
In 1848, Millard Fillmore defeated Lawrence for vice-president on the Whig 
ticket headed by Zachary Taylor, who was elected but died in office thus 
elevating Fillmore to the presidency. Lawrence declined a cabinet post under 
Taylor but became ambassador to Great Britain. A decade earlier he was twice 
elected to Congress on the Whig ticket, but eventually left the party over its 
support of slavery.
In 1845, Lawrence took the lead in creating the City of Lawrence, a planned 
textile industrial city that would bear his name.  The Great Stone Dam 
spanning the Merrimack River was built to provide hydropower to drive the 
mills. At the time it was the largest dam in the world.
He supported railroads when much of the nation considered them an exotic 
novelty. He actively promoted education for lower class citizens and donated 
money for various causes, including affordable housing in Boston.