Description
This collection contains the personal
and professional papers of California lawyer, philanthropist, and book collector Homer D.
Crotty (1899-1972) and his wife, Ida Hull Lloyd Crotty (1910-2000).
Background
Homer D. Crotty (March 15, 1899 – March 29, 1972) was an American lawyer based in Los
Angeles, California. Born and raised in Oakland, California, by Daniel and Mary Frances
Crotty, Homer was the older of two children. After graduating from Oakland's public school
system, Homer received his B.A. (1920) and J.D. (1922) from the University of California and
LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1923). Later in life he was awarded honorary degrees from
Trinity College, Dublin (LL.D. in 1960) and California Western University (L.H.D. in 1964).
In 1922 he was admitted into the State Bar of California. In August 1923, Homer was hired as
an associate attorney by Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher in Los Angeles. He became a senior
partner of the firm in 1931 and handled a number of important assignments, including the
Richfield Oil Corporation Receivership during the Great Depression era. Homer was also an
active member of the State Bar of California, serving as a member and chairman of the
Committee of Bar Examiners from 1942-1947, member of the Board of Governors from 1948-1951,
and as President of the State Bar from 1950-1951. Other organizations he was involved in
were the American Bar Association (Chairman of the Section on Legal Education), the American
Law Institute, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the American Judicature Society, the
Selden Society, the American Society of International Law, the International Bar
Association, the Chancery Club, and the American Bar Foundation. In addition to his legal
duties, Homer was known for his interests in civic affairs and book collecting. He was a
charter member of the Friends (1939-1957) and chairman of the Board of Trustees (1957-1972)
of the Huntington Library, director of the California Historical Society, trustee of the
Claremont Colleges (1941-1972), president of Southwest Museum (1945-1971), director of Lloyd
Corporation (1953-1971), and member of the California, Jonathan, Sunset, Grolier, and
Zamorano clubs.Ida Hull Lloyd Crotty (November 7, 1910 – September 3, 2000) was the wife of Homer D.
Crotty. Born in Portland, Oregon, Ida was the youngest of four daughters of Ralph B. Lloyd
and Lulu Nettie Hull Lloyd. She attended Marlborough School in Los Angeles and received her
B.Ed. in Art from UCLA in 1933. She and Homer were married in 1934, and they had two
daughters (Anne and Mary) and two sons (Daniel and Peter). Throughout her lifetime Ida Hull
was actively engaged in various philanthropic and civic works. She has made monetary
donations to the Caltech Seismological Laboratory for earthquake studies, construction of
the Lloyd House (a Caltech student dormitory), endowment of the Concert Master's Chair at
the Pasadena Symphony Association, and numerous financial and book donations to the
Huntington Library and other cultural and charitable institutions. She has served as a board
member of the Honnold Library at Claremont Colleges, member of the Board of Trustees of the
Huntington Library, founding member of the Los Angeles Music Center, and trustee of the
Ralph B. Lloyd Foundation.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.