Matthew Norton Clapp (April 15, 1906 – April 22, 1995) was a successful businessman, and eventually served as chairman of the

Weyerhaeuser Weyerhaeuser () is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company also manufactures wood products. It operates as a real e ...

Corporation. He was active in civic service and a philanthropist.

Early life and career

Clapp was born in Pasadena, California. He was named for his maternal grandfather Matthew G. Norton, a

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

lumberman who via the Laird, Norton Company was to help finance the Weyerhaeuser purchase of land in Washington State in 1900. Clapp received an A.B. from Occidental College and a Ph.B in 1928 from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and a J.D. from Chicago in 1929. He practiced law in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

from 1929 until 1942. He was among the developers of Lakewood Colonial Center in 1937 in what is now Lakewood, WA.City of Lakewood History - lakewoodhistorical.org
/ref> It was one of the first shopping centers west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. In 1938, he converted an existing structure into the Lakewood Ice Arena. He became a trustee of the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

in 1933 and would serve there until his death including being chairman from 1967 until 1986. In 1938 he began his career with Weyerhauser. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and served until 1946 when he returned to Weyerhauser. In 1947 he succeeded his father as a director of the company. He was its president from 1960 to 1966 and chairman until 1970.

Civic service and community builder and investor

In 1949 he was a founder of the Medina Foundation, which provides charitable grants in the greater Puget Sound area. He was named to the Trustees of University of Chicago in 1957 and was named a Life Trustee in 1970. In 1961 he joined

Bagley Wright Bagley Wright (April 13, 1924 – July 18, 2011) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. He was president of Bagley Wright Investments, was a developer of Seattle's landmark Space Needle and chair of Physio Control Corp. from 196 ...

, contractor Howard S. Wright, architect John Graham, and financier Ned Skinner as investors in the Pentagram Corporation which was to build and own the

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center ...

for the 1962 World's Fair. He continued his ownership until 1977 when he sold out his interests to Howard Wright.

Scouting

Clapp was a member of the National Executive Board of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

for several decades. In 1963 he donated the land around Mount Baldy, New Mexico to the Scouts, and this property was added to Philmont Scout Ranch. From 1971 to 1973, he served as national president of the BSA.

Personal life

Clapp married several times and had many children, including three sons whom he outlived. His second wife Evelyn and stepdaughter Gail Gardner were killed in an airplane crash near

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

, in 1951. Evelyn's son

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

would go on to serve as Governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. Clapp contributed $91,000 to his first gubernatorial campaign. He married his son Jim's ex-wife Jacquie in 1984. When he died at his home in

Medina, Washington Medina () is a mostly residential city in Eastside, King County, Washington, United States. The city is on a peninsula in Lake Washington, on the opposite shore from Seattle, bordered by Clyde Hill and Hunts Point to the east and water on a ...

, on April 22, 1995, Clapp's fortune was estimated at $450 million by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapp, Norton Philmont Scout Ranch People from Pasadena, California University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Weyerhaeuser 1906 births 1995 deaths Businesspeople from Tacoma, Washington People from Medina, Washington Presidents of the Boy Scouts of America