Ratcliffe Hicks
Ratcliffe Hicks (1843–1906) was an American lawyer, industrialist, state legislator, and philanthropist from Tolland, Connecticut. The family home is now the Hicks-Stearns Family Museum. The Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture at the University of Connecticut and the Hicks Memorial Municipal Center and Library in Tolland are named after him. Life Born in Tolland on October 3, 1843, Ratcliffe was the eldest son of Charles R. Hicks (1812–1878), a prominent merchant from Providence, Rhode Island, and later New York City, and Maria A. Stearns (1815–1905). His grandfather on his mother's side was a judge and state legislator from Tolland. His grandfather on his father's side was a successful sea captain. Ratcliffe attended the Monson Academy and the Williston Seminary preparatory schools and graduated with honors from Brown University in 1864. He was a founding member of the Delta Upsilon chapter at Brown. Returning to Tolland, he became a schoolteacher while studying law under local judge and politician Loren P. Waldo. After passing the bar, Hicks practiced law in Meriden and Hartford, including three years in the law offices of U.S. Senator Orville H. Platt. Hicks became a prominent attorney, litigating important cases and earning over $10,000 annually in legal fees, equivalent