Herbert L. Pratt | |
|---|---|
 Pratt in 1918 | |
| President ofStandard Oil Company of New York | |
| In office 1923–1928 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Clay Folger |
| Succeeded by | Charles F. Meyer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Herbert Lee Pratt (1871-11-21)November 21, 1871 New York City, US |
| Died | February 3, 1945(1945-02-03) (aged 73) New York City, US |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Frederic B. Pratt (brother) George Dupont Pratt (brother) John Teele Pratt (brother) Harold I. Pratt (brother) Charles M. Pratt (half-brother) |
| Parent(s) | Mary Helen Richardson Charles Pratt |
| Alma mater | Amherst College |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Herbert Lee Pratt (November 21, 1871 – February 3, 1945) was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry. In 1923, he became head ofStandard Oil of New York; his fatherCharles Pratt was a founder ofAstral Oil Works, which later became part of Standard Oil. He lived and worked in New York City, as well as having a country estate,The Braes inGlen Cove, Long Island, and a hunting preserve and estate, "Good Hope Plantation" inRidgeland, South Carolina. He was also an art collector and philanthropist.[1]
Pratt was born inBrooklyn, New York, on November 21, 1871. He was the fourth of six children of the Standard Oil industrialistCharles Pratt, and Mary Helen (née Richardson) Pratt, his father's second wife. His siblings includedFrederic B. Pratt,George Dupont Pratt, Helen Pratt,John Teele Pratt (husband ofRuth Baker Pratt, the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York) andHarold I. Pratt. From his father's first marriage to Lydia Richardson (the elder sister of his mother), who died young in 1861, his older half-siblings wereCharles Millard Pratt and Lydia Richardson Pratt.[2]
He took a degree of Bachelor of Arts atAmherst College in 1895,[3] a classmate of future presidentCalvin Coolidge.[1]
After his graduation from Amherst, he became a clerk atBergen Point Chemical Works. He later became assistant to the manager of thePratt Works and factories in Brooklyn and the manager of theKings County and Long Island Works.[1]
Like his father, who was a pioneer in the independent oil industry and accepted a merger with Standard Oil, Pratt was a leading figure in the U.S. oil industry. On June 1, 1923, he was elected to replaceHenry Clay Folger as head ofStandard Oil Company of New York, also known as Socony (which eventually became known asMobil). After the announcement, he was featured on the June 11, 1923, cover ofTime. In 1928, after Charles F. Meyer became president of Standard Oil of New York, Pratt became chairman of the board.[4]
In 1931, when Socony merged with theVacuum Oil Company, Pratt was elected chairman of the board of the newSocony-Vacuum Corporation, which had capital of $1,000,000,000.[5][6] Pratt retired as chairman on June 1, 1935, after forty years of service.[1] He was also a director ofBankers Trust Company from 1917 to 1938,Asia Banking Corporation,[3] theAmerican Can Company,Stone & Webster and theCharles Pratt and Company.[1]
On April 28, 1897, Pratt married Florence Balsdon Gibb (1873–1935). Florence, a graduate ofPacker Collegiate Institute, a daughter of Harriet (née Balsdon) Gibb and John Gibb, a leading merchant who was the head ofLoeser & Co.[7] In 1927, Florence was the first woman elected to theState Board of Regents. Together, Herbert and Florence were the parents of five children:[3]
On January 2, 1935, his wife died at their New York residence,1027 Fifth Avenue.[7] Pratt died on February 3, 1945, at the age of 73 at834 Fifth Avenue, his home in Manhattan, New York City.[1] After a funeral atSt. James' Episcopal Church onMadison Avenue and71st Street, he was buried in Pratt Cemetery, the family cemetery inLattingtown, New York.[1]
Pratt was a native of theClinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. His mansion at 213 Clinton Avenue was constructed in 1908, but, in 1914, the Pratt's moved to640 Park Avenue in Manhattan, a luxury building designed byJ. E. R. Carpenter.[23] In 1916, the 12-story907 Fifth Avenue building, also designed by Carpenter, was completed, and Pratt, then vice president of Standard Oil, rented the largest apartment, 25 rooms and eight baths, occupying the entire top floor, at an annual rent of $30,000.[24] It was the first building developed to replace one of the mansions previously fronting on Central Park.[24]
Pratt soon outgrew this residence and moved again to the1027 Fifth Avenue, a 40 ft. wide residence that was the central of threeBeaux-Arts mansions at 84th and Fifth Avenue. Their neighbors includedFlorence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly at 1028 Fifth Avenue. In 1936, a year after his wife's death, he sold 1027 Fifth Avenue to theMarymount School, who had owned Mrs. Twombly's home since 1926, and combined the building with its neighbors but preserved all the exteriors and much of the interiors.[25]
His country estate, "The Braes", inGlen Cove, Long Island, was built in 1912–14 and designed byJames Brite in theneo-Jacobean style. It was the largest of the six Pratt family mansions at Glen Cove. It is now part of theWebb Institute. Pratt also built "Homewood" for his daughter Edith and "Preference" inLattingtown for his daughter Harriet, both designed byCarrère and Hastings.[26]
In 1910, Pratt bought the 9,000-acre (36 km2) Good Hope plantation and hunting lodge inSouth Carolina (about five miles (8 km) from Ridgeland) fromHarry B. Hollins, also of Long Island.[3] For several years, the Pratt family leasedYester, an old castle on the Moors inEast Lothian,Scotland for the shooting season.[1]
Pratt also spent summer months at his Japanese themed "camp,"Pine Tree Point, onUpper St. Regis Lake in theAdirondacks, which he purchased fromFrederick William Vanderbilt in the early 1900s.[27] He also spend some time at theCaughnawana Fishing and Hunting Club inQuebec, Canada.
Pratt was anart collector, particularly of portraits and miniatures. In 1937, he was elected a trustee of theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[28] WhenRotherwas Court, Herefordshire, England, was dismantled and auctioned in 1913, Pratt purchased the dining room for his neo-Jacobean mansion "The Braes," then under construction as a country estate in Glen Cove. His bequest to Amherst College included the Rotherwas Room and more than 80 American portraits and miniatures, as well as an extensive collection of decorative arts.[29] TheRotherwas Room was incorporated into theMead Art Museum, when it was built atAmherst College in 1949.[3]
TheWebb Institute of Naval Architecture acquired "The Braes" in 1945 for use as its campus. After renovation, it held its first classes there in 1947. Additions have included a library, model facility and other features.
A Steamship was named after Herbert L Pratt. On June 3, 1918, the Herbert L Pratt struck a mine off Delaware laid bySM U-151 (
Imperial German Navy).[30] The Pratt was saved, salvaged and towed to port.[31]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Cover ofTime magazine June 11, 1923 | Succeeded by |