Richard Clipston Sturgis was born December 24, 1860, in
Boston, Massachusetts, to Russell and Susan Codman (Welles) Sturgis. His grandfather was merchant
Russell Sturgis and uncles included architect
John Hubbard Sturgis, politician
Henry Parkman Sturgis, author
Julian Sturgis, and novelist
Howard Sturgis. He was educated in the private school of
George Washington Copp Noble in
Dedham, Massachusetts. He entered
Harvard College in 1877, graduating in 1881. From 1881 to 1883, he worked in the office of his uncle,
Sturgis & Brigham. He then sailed to
England, where he worked until late 1884 for
London architect
Robert William Edis, then engaged on an extension to
Sandringham House. After leaving Edis, he spent two years touring Europe. In August 1886, his uncle dissolved his partnership, and the younger Sturgis returned to Boston to help manage the office. In May 1887, John Hubbard Sturgis returned to his native England to manage his father's affairs, with the younger Sturgis left in charge in Boston. In February 1888, his uncle died in England, and the younger Sturgis succeeded to the practice. This continued until it was dissolved in May 1895, after which Sturgis continued alone. In July 1902, he formed a new partnership with George Edward Barton, known as Sturgis & Barton. In addition to a Boston office this firm also had a New York office at
Tuxedo Park. This partnership was dissolved after a period of six years. He again was sole proprietor of his firm until 1922, when he reorganized his firm as The Office of R. Clipston Sturgis, with William Stanley Parker, William B. Coffin, William Adams, S. Winthrop St. Clair, and Alanson Hall Sturgis, his nephew, as associates. Ten years later, in 1932, Sturgis retired. The firm was then reorganized as Sturgis Associates Inc. Parker was head of the new firm, though Sturgis remained associated as a consultant. Sturgis was regarded as a leader in the architectural profession. In 1891, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the
American Institute of Architects. From 1908 to 1912, he was president of the
Boston Society of Architects. In 1913-14, he was first vice president of the
American Institute of Architects, and president in 1914-15. He was also involved in the
Society of Arts and Crafts of Boston, and served as its fourth president from 1917 to 1920. Other organizations to which Sturgis belonged include: the Harvard Clubs of
Boston and
New York City, the
Somerset Club, the
Tavern Club, the
Union Boat Club, the
Loyal Legion, the
English-Speaking Union, the
Colonial Society of Massachusetts and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1902 until 1909, Sturgis was a member of the Board of School-house Commissioners of the School-house Department, a department of the Boston city government that had charge of the selection of sites, appointment of architects and supervision of construction of new schools throughout Boston. ==Personal life==