Photo: Victor Justice Evans, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹³

Victor Justice Evans

American patent businessman and collector of American Indian art and artifacts (1865–1931)¹

Victor Justice Evans (1865-1931) was the founder of one of the largest U.S. patent agencies of his time. Victor J. Evans & Company, Patent Attorneys, was founded in 1898.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Victor Justice Evans (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born 1865, died Feb 1, 1931.¹

About

Evans built up a thriving business based in part on his willingness to offer full refunds to inventors if they were unsuccessful in securing the patents they desired.

By the 1920s, Evans' firm was described as the “largest patent firm in the world”. In addition to its headquarters location in Washington, D.C., it had offices in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Francisco. The Victor Building, headquarters of the firm, has a long history as an important Washington DC office building. It was initially completed in 1909 at Grant Place NW (now G Place) and 9th Street near the Patent Office. It was expanded twice, in 1911 by architect Appleton P. Clark Jr., and in 1925 by architect Waddy Butler Wood.

Evans' interests included aeronautics, exotic animals, and Native American artifacts and artworks. He had his own private zoo. His collection of art and artifacts was considered one of the largest in the world at the time. He was a significant supporter of the Smithsonian National Zoo, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History leaving them animals from his private zoo and art and artifacts from his Native American collection on his death.

From Wikipedia’s article on Victor Justice Evans, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Victor J. Evans & Company, Patent AttorneysFounder¹²

Career

Occupation: art collector, artist, businessperson.⁵

Date not recordedFounded Victor J. Evans & Company, Patent Attorneys³
Date not recordedFounded Victor Building⁴

Known for: Victor J. Evans & Company, Patent Attorneys, Victor Building.⁶

Personal life

Born1865, Delaware^{7 8}
DiedFeb 1, 1931, Washington, D.C.^{9 10}
CitizenshipUnited States^{8 11}

Philanthropy

Evans was active in a number of areas in addition to his patent work.

He was interested in exotic animals, and had his own private 10-acre zoo west of Foxhall Road off Hawthorne Lane NW. He became a significant supporter of the Smithsonian National Zoo and left the majority of his animals to the zoo at his death, excepting any that his wife Zenobia wished to keep.

Evans was an avid collector of photos and art, in particular Native American artifacts and artworks. His collection was considered to be one of the largest in the world. As a result of this interest, he became an advocate for Native American tribes. Unsuccessful in convincing the federal government to establish a site to host his extensive collections during his lifetime, he left them to the Smithsonian Institution at his death.