A Gilder by Birth, a Bridge Between Worlds

Julia Tiffany Gilder, later known as Julia Gilder Claude and Julia Gilder Treat, was born into one of America’s most intellectually vibrant and artistically influential families. Daughter of Dr. Rodman Drake de Kay Gilder and Louise Comfort Tiffany Gilder, and granddaughter to Richard Watson Gilder and Louis Comfort Tiffany, Julia inherited a legacy of brilliance spanning literature, design, science, and public thought.

Raised in the deeply creative and socially conscious atmosphere of Four Brooks Farm in Tyringham, Massachusetts, Julia grew up surrounded by the extended Gilder-Tiffany artistic dynasty. Her childhood was steeped in the arts, psychiatry, and political idealism.

Her life extended the Gilder legacy into new domains. She married twice—first to Albert Claude, the Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cell biologist, and later to Asher Eugene Treat, an American entomologist known for his work on parasitic mites. Through both partnerships, she remained connected to frontiers of scientific exploration and inquiry, much as her ancestors had been with poetry, painting, and publishing.

She was the sister of Richard Watson Gilder II, a World War II pilot who was killed in service, and aunt to George Gilder, the influential technologist and author.

Julia’s life story bridges the 19th-century Gilded Age and the modern scientific era. Though she moved across names and nations, she remained rooted in the legacy of the Gilder family—quietly but enduringly advancing its spirit of curiosity, culture, and contribution.