W. Alton Jones

William Alton Jones
W. Alton Jones (third from left), president of War Emergency Pipelines Inc., with other officials at the dedication of the Big Inch oil pipeline (February 19, 1943)
BornApril 19, 1891
Webb City, Missouri, US
DiedMarch 1, 1962(1962-03-01) (aged 70)
Queens, New York City, US
Other namesPete Jones
EmployerCities Service Company
Political partyRepublican
SpouseNettie Marie Marvin (m. 1914-1962)
Children2

William Alton Jones (April 19, 1891 – March 1, 1962), was president of the oil and gas conglomerate Cities Service Company (now CITGO). He was an influential industrialist, philanthropist, and close personal friend of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[1]

Biography

Jones was born into a poor Missouri farm family of seven in 1891. He married his childhood sweetheart, Nettie Marie Marvin in 1914. In 1920 he became an executive with the energy company Cities Service Company, serving as president from 1940 to 1953. He rose to become one of the highest-paid CEOs in the United States.[1] During World War II, he became a hero of war production by building a secret dynamite production plant in Arkansas, an aviation fuel refinery in Louisiana, and over 3,000 miles of oil pipelines from Texas to the East Coast that were vital to the war effort.

As an important supporter of the Republican Party, he met and became a very close personal friend of President Eisenhower.

In 1944 he founded the W. Alton Jones Foundation "to promote the well-being and general good of mankind through out [sic] the world". The foundation supported various causes, such as the arts, education, and environmental activism, but split into three separate funds in 2001.

Jones was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in New York City on March 1, 1962, while on his way to join Eisenhower on a fishing trip.[1][2]

Immediately after his death his widow, Nettie Marie Jones,[3] donated his private hunting and fishing retreat (which had hosted President Eisenhower and the King Mahendra of Nepal) to the University of Rhode Island, creating the W. Alton Jones Campus.[4][5] The campus closed in June of 2020 because of continuing financial struggles over several years.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c W. Alton Jones. 20th Century American Leaders Database, Harvard Business School. Accessed 25 July 2009.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Dave. "All's quiet at Whispering Pines". The Providence Journal, September 22, 2005. Accessed 25 July 2009.
  3. ^ Staff, P. B. N. (2012-09-24). "URI celebrates W. Alton Jones Campus' 50th anniversary". Providence Business News. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  4. ^ Wenzel, Jan. "Weddings In The Woods" Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Rhode Island Roads. Accessed 25 July 2009.
  5. ^ Whispering Pines Conference Center. Paul and Allison's Wedding Website. Accessed 25 July 2009.
  6. ^ LEWIS, ALLIE (2020-06-10). "URI decides to close W. Alton Jones campus". RICentral.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.