Rufus Cutler Dawes (July 30, 1867 – January 8, 1940) was an American businessman in oil and banking from a prominent

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

family. He and his three brothers all became nationally known. In the 1920s he served as an expert on the commissions to prepare the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan to manage German reparations to the Allies after

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 ...

. He had most of his career in Chicago, where he was involved in civic organizations. He served as president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and from 1934-1940, as head of the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

organization and the Museum of Science & Industry (MSI).

Early life and education

Dawes was born in Marietta, Ohio, to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Rufus R. Dawes Rufus R. Dawes (July 4, 1838August 1, 1899) was a military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He used the middle initial "R" but had no middle name. He was noted for his service in the famed Iron Brigade, particularly duri ...

and Mary Beman (Gates) Dawes. He was a younger brother of

Charles G. Dawes Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-reci ...

and great-great-grandson of Revolutionary War figure William Dawes. His two younger brothers,

Beman Gates Dawes Beman Gates Dawes (January 14, 1870 – May 15, 1953) was a politician and oil executive who served two terms as a Republican Congressman from Ohio from 1905 to 1909. Biography Dawes, a descendant of American Revolution hero William Dawes a ...

and

Henry May Dawes Henry May Dawes (April 22, 1877 – September 29, 1952) was an American businessman and banker from a prominent Ohio family. He served as a United States Comptroller of the Currency from 1923 to 1924 and also worked as an executive in the oil indu ...

, also achieved national reputations. His middle name of Cutler is in honor of his paternal grandmother, Sarah Cutler's family (She was a daughter of Ephraim Cutler who was the son of Manasseh Cutler.) Cutler was also the name of

Lysander Cutler Lysander Cutler (February 16, 1807July 30, 1866) was an American businessman, educator, politician, and Union Army General during the American Civil War. Early years Cutler was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, the son of a farmer. Despite object ...

, one of Rufus Dawes's

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

colleagues in the Iron Brigade. Dawes graduated from

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

with an A.B. in 1886 and A.M. in 1889.

Marriage and family

He married Helen B. Palmer on June 3, 1893.

Career

Dawes became active with his brothers in many gas and lighting utilities. He was selected as president of the Union Gas & Electric Company, Metropolitan Gas & Electric Company, and Dawes Brothers, Inc. He became involved in public service in 1918, when he was appointed to serve on the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

State Pension Laws Commission (1918–1919). In 1920, he was selected as a delegate to the Illinois constitutional convention. His brother Charles appointed him to serve on the experts commission preparing the Dawes Plan in 1924, to settle an international crisis in Europe and develop a staggered plan for Germany to pay its reparations. Because of his contribution, Dawes was also asked to work as assistant to

Owen D. Young Owen D. Young (October 27, 1874July 11, 1962) was an American industrialist, businessman, lawyer and diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference (SRC) in 1929, as a member of the German Reparations International Commission. He is known for t ...

, who developed the succeeding Young Plan in 1929. Dawes was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, serving as president in 1925–26. He was president of

A Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

Corporation from 1927 until his death in 1940. From 1934 until his death, Dawes was concurrently president of the

organization and the Museum of Science & Industry (MSI). Dawes was the third president of the MSI, after

Sewell Avery Sewell Lee Avery (November 4, 1874 – October 31, 1960) was an American businessman who achieved early prominence in gypsum mining and became president of the United States Gypsum Company (1905–1936). At the beginning of the Depression, he ...

and

William Rufus Abbott William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

. Previously, he had been an active member of the Board of Trustees, helping to brief

Waldemar Kaempffert Waldemar Kaempffert (September 27, 1877 - November 27, 1956) was an American science writer and museum director. Career Waldemar (Bernhard) Kaempffert was born and raised in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Science from the City Colleg ...

when the latter became the first Executive Director of the Museum of Science & Industry in 1928. (Kaempffert was the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' science editor and served again after his time at the museum.) Dawes was an hereditary companion of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. Rufus C. Dawes died in Chicago on January 8, 1940.

Legacy and honors

*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 opposin ...

, in 1943 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 ...

commissioned a Liberty Ship, named the in his honor. It was scrapped in 1968.

References

* Seymour Currey, ''Chicago: Its History and Its Builders – A Century of Marvelous Growth'', Volume IV. Chicago, Illinois: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company (1912), pages 9 & 10 * ''Who’s Who in Chicago 1931'', p. 244 * Jay Pridmore, ''Inventive Genius: The History of the Museum of Science & Industry Chicago''. Chicago, Illinois: Museum of Science & Industry, 1996. * Herman Kogan, ''A Continuing Marvel: the Story of the Museum of Science & Industry''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1973.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Rufus C. 1867 births 1940 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago People from Marietta, Ohio American energy industry businesspeople American diplomats Dawes family