Cleveland Hoadley Dodge (January 26, 1860June 24, 1926) was an American businessman, investor, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was active in New York City politics and was president of

Phelps Dodge Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, James & Co., the part of the ...

mining and served as "adviser and financier" to

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. He was known for his charity work in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Biography

He was born on January 26, 1860, the son of Sarah Hoadley and

William E. Dodge Jr. William Earl Dodge Jr. (February 15, 1832 – August 9, 1903) was an American businessman, activist, and philanthropist. For many years, he was one of two controlling partners in the Phelps Dodge Corporation, one of the largest copper mining corpo ...

, who was a principal partner in the firm of Phelps Dodge & Co. Their family homes were at 262 Madison Avenue, and Greyston, in the Riverdale section of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. When the Dodge children were young, their playmates included members of the Roosevelt family, one of whom was

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Education

Cleveland Dodge and his brother, William Earl Dodge III, attended

Williston Seminary Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841. History Williston Seminary was ...

at Easthampton, Massachusetts, and in 1875 entered

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, graduating the same year as

(1879). After graduation, William joined the family firm of Phelps Dodge while Cleveland entered the lumber business under the direction of his uncle, Arthur Murray Dodge.

Marriage

Cleveland married Grace Wainwright Parish in 1883; Grace was a friend of Theodore Roosevelt's sister and Cleveland had known her since childhood. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born in August 1884. Two sons, Cleveland and Bayard followed.

Business

When Cleveland’s brother, William, tragically died in September 1884, Cleveland was now the eldest son in the family and was required to take William’s place at Phelps Dodge. The company had started as a mercantile business in 1834 but diversified into copper mining, smelting and manufacturing. The old mercantile side of the business was closed in 1906 and in 1908 Phelps Dodge became a holding company for its mining activities. The officers of the new corporation were James Douglas, Cleveland Hoadley Dodge,

Arthur Curtiss James Arthur Curtiss James (June 1, 1867 – June 4, 1941) was a wealthy speculator in copper mines and railroads. Early life He was the son of Daniel Willis James and Ellen S. Curtiss. His grandfather was Daniel James, one of the founders of Phel ...

, George Notman and James McLean. Cleveland was a vice-president from 1909 to 1924 and chairman of the board from 1924 until 1926. One of Cleveland’s two sons, Cleveland Earl Dodge, followed him into the business. His other son,

Bayard Dodge Bayard Dodge (1888–1972) was an American scholar of Islam and president of the American University in Beirut. Background The son of Cleveland Hoadley Dodge and Grace Wainwright Parish, he graduated from Princeton University in 1909. Career In ...

, became president of the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

(formerly, Syrian Protestant College) in 1923. The Dodge family had long been supporters of the college, and of its founder, Rev. Daniel Bliss. In 1914 Bayard married Mary Bliss, the granddaughter of the founder.

Near East Connections

Cleveland was also connected with the

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1909 to 1926. In 1915, the American ambassador in Turkey, Henry Morgenthau Sr., called for urgent humanitarian aid for the Armenian people who were being threatened with annihilation. Cleveland Dodge was asked to help and he met with a group of affluent people who pledged funding. Out of that came the formation of the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (ACASR) where Cleveland would serve as Treasurer, absorb the administrative expenses as well as offer his boardroom for Executive Committee gatherings.

The Woodrow Wilson Connection

Government facilities were placed at their disposal and the following year a national fund raising campaign was organised by President Wilson. Cleveland was a loyal friend to Woodrow Wilson throughout his life. With other influential friends Cleveland managed to get Wilson elected as the President of Princeton in 1902. Cleveland became a trustee of the University in 1904 and supported Wilson’s radical reforms. However, by 1907 Wilson was meeting serious resistance to his changes. Within a few years he accepted the Democratic nomination for the governorship of New Jersey. Wilson next ran for president of the United States in 1912 and was elected. Cleveland was one of the largest financial backers for Wilson's presidential campaign and enlisted contributions from many of his former classmates and sympathetic Princeton trustees. He continued to provide financial support for Wilson throughout his years in office and appears to have asked for only one favor. That was in 1917, when war with Germany seemed inevitable, he asked Wilson to do all in his power to keep the United States from declaring war on Turkey and Bulgaria.

Philanthropy

In addition to his steadfast work with the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (which became the Near East Relief Committee (1919)), Cleveland’s philanthropic interests included the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, Princeton,

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

, New York Museum of Natural History, the New York Public Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Zoo, Botanical Garden and several colleges in the Near East. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

he was in charge of the American Red Cross distribution center in New York. He established the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation in 1917 with an initial funding of five million dollars, wanting to give money away that came to him during the war years. As well as those large sums, he gave many smaller gifts to individuals with immediate needs.

Railroad Ties and Transfer

Towards the end of his life he and his second cousin and fellow director, Arthur Curtiss James, were instrumental in bringing about the transfer of the railroad system owned by Dodge Phelps, the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad. It went to the Southern Pacific Company for $64 million.

Death

Cleveland H. Dodge died on June 24, 1926 in

Riverdale, New York Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College ...

of pneumonia.

Yachting

Cleveland owned a series of yachts starting with a small boat called ''Kittiwake'' and then a 46 footer called ''Wasp''. Next came a seventy footer called ''Hester'' followed by ''Corona'', a yacht built in 1893 as ''Colonia'' to defend the America's Cup although she failed to be selected. She was a very fast vessel and Cleveland, who was a member of the New York Yacht Club, had some success racing her.

The "Christian Student"

Cleveland made a gift to Princeton of a bronze sculpture of his dead brother, W. Earl Dodge, called ''The Christian Student'', which had been commissioned by Cleveland from

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...

, and showed his brother in sports clothing with books under his arms and academic gown over his shoulder. It became the target of student pranks and these became so bad that the authorities eventually had to remove the sculpture to storage.

Family tree

Legacy

* Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation

Gallery

File:Lest they perish LCCN2002711981 restored.jpg, File:"Buy Liberty Bonds. Give them 2 1-2 million starving Armenians, Syrians, and Greeks. Every Penny for Relief, Expenses... - NARA - 512728.jpg, File:"You won't let me starve will you^ I am little Shushan from Armenia. My home has been Destroyed, Father was taken... - NARA - 512729.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, Cleveland Hoadley 1860 births 1926 deaths American financiers American investors American manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from New York (state) American businesspeople in metals Businesspeople in steel Businesspeople in wood products Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Dodge family People from the Bronx Philanthropists from New York (state) Princeton University alumni