Brewster Jennings
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Brewster Jennings (June 9, 1898 – October 2, 1968) was a founder and president of the Socony-Vacuum
company, which became, in 1955, the Standard Oil Company of New York
(Socony), which would later become Mobil Oil
, and then merged to become part of ExxonMobil
.
and Mary Dows Brewster. Both his paternal grandfather Oliver Burr Jennings
and his maternal grandfather Benjamin Brewster
(after whom he was named) had helped stake John D. Rockefeller
and had become his partners in running the Standard Oil Trust. Both men had gone west in the California Gold Rush
and had set up a successful dry goods merchandise business, outfitting prospecting camps along the coast and around Sacramento
. Oliver Burr Jennings was related to the Rockefellers by marriage, having married Esther Judson Goodsell, sister of William Rockefeller
's wife Almira Geraldine Goodsell.
Jennings was raised in Fairfield, Connecticut
, where his father had built a forty-room French Renaissance style home called the Mailands. The building later became part of the campus of Fairfield University
and was renamed McAuliffe Hall. He attended St. Paul's School
in Concord, New Hampshire
. During World War I
he served in the United States Navy
as an ensign on a submarine chaser and was awarded the Navy Cross
.
In 1920 he graduated from Yale, where he was tapped for the secret society Scroll and Key
. He continued his involvement with Yale as an alumnus, serving as a member of the Yale Corporation Council and as chairman of the Yale Development Committee.
On June 18, 1923, Jennings married Kate deForest Prentice (July 7, 1903 – August 18, 1994), daughter of John Hill Prentice and Kate Sheldon Harrison. They had three children: Mary Brewster Jennings (who married Paul J. Chase), Kate deForest Jennings (who married Harry H. Webb), and John Prentice Jennings.
In 1942 Jennings left the company to become assistant director of tanker operations in the United States Maritime Commission
and then assistant deputy administrator for tanker operations of the War Shipping Administration
. He was awarded the presidential certificate of merit for outstanding contributions to the war effort.
He was also one of the first recipients of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award in October 1952, honored for his World War II services in the War Shipping Administration.
After the end of the war he returned to the company and was named president and chairman of the executive committee. In 1955 he became chairman of the board and continued as chairman of the executive committee. Also in 1955, the company changed its name to Socony Mobil (renamed Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966). During his tenure as chief executive officer the company experienced rapid expansion, tripling its worldwide gross crude production.
Jennings was vice president in charge of the transportation division of the American Petroleum Institute
in 1947–48 and its treasurer in 1949–50. He was also a trustee of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
and the Avalon Foundation.
Jennings continued as chief executive officer of Socony Mobil until his retirement in 1958. In 1968 he died at Roosevelt Hospital
in New York City
after a short illness. He was 70 years old and lived in Glen Head, New York
.
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
company, which became, in 1955, the Standard Oil Company of New York
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
(Socony), which would later become Mobil Oil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
, and then merged to become part of ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
.
Early life and family
Jennings was born in 1898 to Oliver Gould JenningsOliver Gould Jennings
Oliver Gould Jennings was a financier. He served in Connecticut House of Representatives. He was on the boards of Bethlehem Steel, United States Industrial Alcohol Company, McKesson & Robbins, Kingsport Press, Signature Company, National Fuel Gas, and Grocery Store Products.-Biography:He was born...
and Mary Dows Brewster. Both his paternal grandfather Oliver Burr Jennings
Oliver Burr Jennings
Oliver Burr Jennings was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil.-Early life and family:...
and his maternal grandfather Benjamin Brewster
Benjamin Brewster (financier)
Benjamin Brewster was an American industrialist, financier, and one of the original trustees of Standard Oil.-Early life:...
(after whom he was named) had helped stake John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and had become his partners in running the Standard Oil Trust. Both men had gone west in the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
and had set up a successful dry goods merchandise business, outfitting prospecting camps along the coast and around Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Oliver Burr Jennings was related to the Rockefellers by marriage, having married Esther Judson Goodsell, sister of William Rockefeller
William Rockefeller
William Avery Rockefeller, Jr. , American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza Rockefeller.-Youth, education:Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York,...
's wife Almira Geraldine Goodsell.
Jennings was raised in Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
, where his father had built a forty-room French Renaissance style home called the Mailands. The building later became part of the campus of Fairfield University
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
and was renamed McAuliffe Hall. He attended St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
in Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as an ensign on a submarine chaser and was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
.
In 1920 he graduated from Yale, where he was tapped for the secret society Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
. He continued his involvement with Yale as an alumnus, serving as a member of the Yale Corporation Council and as chairman of the Yale Development Committee.
On June 18, 1923, Jennings married Kate deForest Prentice (July 7, 1903 – August 18, 1994), daughter of John Hill Prentice and Kate Sheldon Harrison. They had three children: Mary Brewster Jennings (who married Paul J. Chase), Kate deForest Jennings (who married Harry H. Webb), and John Prentice Jennings.
Career
After his graduation from Yale in 1920, Jennings began his career as a clerk in the marine department of the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony). He became a purchasing agent, then manager of the company's real estate department, and then assistant to the president. In 1939, eight years after Socony merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum, he was appointed to the board of directors and put in charge of transportation.In 1942 Jennings left the company to become assistant director of tanker operations in the United States Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
and then assistant deputy administrator for tanker operations of the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
. He was awarded the presidential certificate of merit for outstanding contributions to the war effort.
He was also one of the first recipients of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award in October 1952, honored for his World War II services in the War Shipping Administration.
After the end of the war he returned to the company and was named president and chairman of the executive committee. In 1955 he became chairman of the board and continued as chairman of the executive committee. Also in 1955, the company changed its name to Socony Mobil (renamed Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966). During his tenure as chief executive officer the company experienced rapid expansion, tripling its worldwide gross crude production.
Jennings was vice president in charge of the transportation division of the American Petroleum Institute
American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...
in 1947–48 and its treasurer in 1949–50. He was also a trustee of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
and the Avalon Foundation.
Jennings continued as chief executive officer of Socony Mobil until his retirement in 1958. In 1968 he died at Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
after a short illness. He was 70 years old and lived in Glen Head, New York
Glen Head, New York
Glen Head is a hamlet located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population of Glen Head was 4,697....
.