Amos Gager Throop (born 1811, died 1894) was a businessman and politician in Chicago, Illinois during the 1840s and 1850s. Most famously he was known for being a staunch abolitionist prior to the Civil War. In Chicago he lost two campaigns to be that city's mayor in 1852 and 1854. In both elections he was the nominee of the little-known Temperance Party, facing opposition who were members of the Democratic Party. Many years later and after moving to California, he was finally elected mayor -- of Pasadena, California in 1889.

A fervent adherent to liberal religion, Throop established a Universalist group in Pasadena in 1886. He is now best known for founding in 1891 (with a gift of over $100,000) the California Institute of Technology, which is today one of the world's most selective universities. In fact, it was known through its first thirty years as Throop University, Throop Polytechnic Institute, and Throop College of Technology, before its administrators decided on its current name which took effect in 1920.

The scenic Throop Peak, known for its 360 degree views stretching from the Mojave Desert all the way to the Pacific Ocean, sits on the Pacific Crest Trail and is also named after Mr. Throop. Another landmark named after him is Throop Memorial Church, a Pasadena Unitarian Universalist congregation founded in 1923.

He was a descendent of Sir Adrian Scrope of the English Scrope family and Adrian's son William Throope.

External References

• Family tree of Amos G. Throop