John Fairfield Dryden (August 7, 1839 – November 24, 1911) was the founder of the
Prudential Insurance Company and a
United States senator from
New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".
[
]
Early life
Dryden was born in Temple, Maine
Temple is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Temple, New Hampshire. It is located at the end of Maine State Route 43 (Temple Road), and is said to be one of only two towns in Maine to be situated at the e ...
on August 7, 1839. He moved in 1846 with his parents to Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy and later attended Yale College.[
]
Career
In 1875, he founded the Widows and Orphans Friendly Society (now Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers t ...
) in Newark, New Jersey, becoming its first secretary and in 1881 its president, serving in the latter position until his death in 1911.[ His son Forrest succeeded him as president, serving until 1922.][
]
Political career
He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William J. Sewell, serving from January 29, 1902, to March 3, 1907. Dryden was a candidate for reelection but withdrew because of a deadlock in the state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
, which at the time elected U.S. Senators. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Relations with Canada (57th Congress) and a member of the Committee on Enrolled Bills (58th and 59th Congresses).[
]
Personal life
Dryden was married to Cynthia Jennings Fairchild (1842–1916). Together, they were the parents of:
* Forrest Fairchild Dryden (1864–1932),Anthony R. Kuser
Anthony Rudolph Kuser (May 12, 1862 – February 8, 1929) was a businessman and philanthropist who donated the land that makes up New Jersey's highest point and had the monument there built as a war memorial.
Early life
Anthony Rudolph Kuse ...
.gall stones
A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of migr ...
two weeks earlier.
Legacy
His estate was valued at $50,000,000. In addition to his home in Bernardsville, New Jersey, Dryden was in the process of constructing a home in High Point, New Jersey
High Point is a mountain peak within High Point State Park on the border of Wantage Township and Montague Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. Located in the portion of the state known as the Skylands, it is the highest elevation in the sta ...
that was to be one of the largest homes in the country.[
His daughter Susan used part of the Prudential fortune to donate for a state park at New Jersey's highest point. John Dryden Kuser, Dryden's grandson, was a state senator and Brooke Astor's first husband.]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, John Fairfield
1839 births
1911 deaths
Worcester Academy alumni
Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey)
People from Bernardsville, New Jersey
Politicians from Newark, New Jersey
Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts
Prudential Financial people
Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey
New Jersey Republicans
Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey
Businesspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts
19th-century American politicians
Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey
People from Temple, Maine
Yale College alumni
19th-century American businesspeople
19th-century American philanthropists