Victor Justice Evans

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. 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 expanded twice, in 1911 by architect Appleton P. Clark Jr., and in 1925 by architect Waddy Butler Wood.

Evans founded Victor J. Evans & Company, Patent Attorneys, in 1898, and developed it into one of the largest U.S. patent agencies by the 1920s. He offered inventors full refunds if the agency was unsuccessful in securing the patents they desired.

The Victor Building Evans planned and funded the Victor building which was used as the company headquarters for Victor J. Evans and Company. In 1907, Evans bought a site at Grant Place NW (now G Place) and 9th Street in Washington, D.C., right next to the Patent Office, He became a significant supporter of the Smithsonian National Zoo

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.