Joseph Newton Pew, Jr. (November 12, 1886 - April 9, 1963) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrialist and influential member of the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
.
Born in
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
, Pew was the youngest son of Joseph N. and Mary Anderson Pew. Called "Joe," he attended
Shady Side AcademyShady Side Academy is an K through 12 independent school located on three campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, that was established in 1883.The Academy also features a 5-day boarding option for students...
and graduated from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1908. As an undergraduate, Pew was captain of the track team and won the
IC4AIC4A or ICAAAA is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year....
championship in the hammer throw.
Joseph Newton Pew, Jr. (November 12, 1886 - April 9, 1963) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrialist and influential member of the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
.
Early life
Born in
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
, Pew was the youngest son of Joseph N. and Mary Anderson Pew. Called "Joe," he attended
Shady Side AcademyShady Side Academy is an K through 12 independent school located on three campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, that was established in 1883.The Academy also features a 5-day boarding option for students...
and graduated from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1908. As an undergraduate, Pew was captain of the track team and won the
IC4AIC4A or ICAAAA is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year....
championship in the hammer throw. He was also a member of the
Quill and DaggerQuill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...
society. As an outstanding athlete and donor to Cornell athletics, he was inducted into the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.
Pew married Alberta C. Hersel and had five children.
Sun Oil
After graduation, Pew began work at Sun Oil, a business founded by his father in 1890. When his father died in 1912, Pew became vice president at the age of 26 and his brother, J. Howard Pew, became president of Sun Oil at the age of 30.
The two Pew brothers were instrumental in the expansion and success of Sun Oil. Known for their commitment to employees, the Pews never laid off a Sun Oil employee during the Great Depression and also developed one of the first stock-sharing plans for employees. They founded the Sun Shipbuilding company in 1916 with Joseph in charge, which would become the largest private shipyard and biggest producer of oil tankers in America by
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As visionary of the company, it was Pew who was behind the effort to develop gasoline without tetraethyl lead, creating Blue
SunocoSunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
. He also developed a gyroscopic instrument with high-speed camera and timing device for preventing the drilling of crooked holes in oil wells. Receiving a patent in 1926, the device helped the company drill deeper oil wells.
Pew remained vice president of the company until being appointed chairman in 1947. He was chairman until his death in Philadelphia, PA in 1963. Pew hired his
Quill and DaggerQuill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...
classmate from Cornell, Samuel B. Eckert, who served as Sun Oil treasurer and vice president.
Political career
Pew was heavily involved in Republican politics, mostly in
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
, for much of his life and was a delegate to
Republican National ConventionThe Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
. He employed
John HamiltonJohn D. M. Hamilton was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kansas.Hamilton of Topeka was chairman of the Kansas Republican Party in 1931 and chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1936-40...
as a personal advisor and political consultant. He strongly opposed President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and his
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
policies, such as price-fixing and organized labor. By strategically spending millions of dollars, Pew earned a reputation as Pennsylvania's political boss, controlling state and national elections. He funded the operations and staff of the Republican National Committee headquarters in an effort to keep Roosevelt out of office. Although largely unsuccessful on the national scene, Pew's work in his home state was responsible for a number of elections. His support of
Arthur H. JamesArthur Horace James was an American politician. He served as the governor of Pennsylvania from 1939 until 1943.He was elected governor as a Republican when the Democratic machine Arthur Horace James (July 14, 1883 – April 27, 1973) was an American politician. He served as the governor of...
won James the Pennsylvania governor election, and Pew is also given credit for the election of
Edward MartinEdward Martin was an American lawyer and Republican party politician from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. Martin served as a General in the United States National Guard and later retired from military service and went on to serve as Governor of Pennsylvania and then United States Senator...
as governor and
Bernard SamuelBernard "Barney" Samuel was a Pennsylvania politician. A Republican, he served as mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1941–1952.He won election to City Council in 1923. He became President Pro Tem. of City Council in 1939 when George Connell, then President of City Council, became acting Mayor...
as Mayor of Philadelphia.
Pew appeared on the cover of
Time Magazine on May 6, 1940 as "Republican Pew" along with an article about his political involvement.
Philanthropy
In 1948, Pew and his siblings founded
The Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit organization and non-governmental organization, founded in 1948 with over US$5 billion in assets...
to serve the public interest. As of 2007, it was one of the nation's wealthiest foundations. The first grant given to education was to
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
, where the
Pew Engineering QuadThe College of Engineering is a division of Cornell University that was founded in 1870 as the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts....
and an engineering professorship bear his name. In 1951, Pew began an effort to assist traditionally black colleges, hiring Cornell alumnus
Jerome H. HollandJerome H. Holland was an educational administrator and diplomat.Jerome Heartwell Holland grew up in Auburn, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1939, after being the first African American to play on its football team...
as a consultant to the foundation.
In 1957, Pew was listed on the
Fortune Magazine list of the
seventy-six wealthiest AmericansIn 1957 Fortune Magazine developed a list of the seventy-six wealthiest Americans; the list was republished in many American newspapers. The primary source of wealth was indicated as being inherited or stemming from a particular business or industry...
.
Pew died in 1963, and is entombed in the family mausoleum in
West Laurel Hill CemeteryWest Laurel Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the site of many notable burials, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992...
in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsyvlania.
Further reading
- Alberta C. Pew, Joseph N. Pew, Jr., Margaret R. Leisenring, Edward B. Leisenring, Jay Cooke, A.E.F.: Anticosti Expeditionary Force (Philadelphia?: Privately Printed, 1935). Account of a private fishing expedition to Anticosti island in Canada, includes photographs of Pew and his wife.
External links