Charles Yardley Chittick (October 22, 1900 – July 18, 2008) was for several years the oldest living
patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Yardley was also the oldest living member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Biography
He was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Phillips Academy in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...
, and was the first person to attend his 90th reunion in the school's 230-year history. While a student he got into a scuffle with fellow student and future actor Humphrey Bogart after he refused to polish Bogart's shoes. After Andover, Chittick went to
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
, where he majored in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...
, was a low-hurdle track champion, and a member of the Beta Theta Pifraternit While a student at MIT, he was elected captain of the one-mile relay track team
Chittick was once offered a job by
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
but turned it down, saying he thought it would be more fun to work for the Kroydon Company, a golf club manufacturer. He said Edison gave him a 150-question test before offering him the job. Several years before his death, he said he asked for a copy of the test from the Thomas Edison Museum and was shown the original with Edison's handwriting in the margins.
Chittick became registered as a patent attorney on February 1, 1934 He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court on September 20, 1950
He was married twice and had two sons His first marriage ended in divorce, which involved a lawsuit that went to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court based on a dispute over a complex settlement and the validity of a divorce filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Chittick was the first recipient of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity's Beta
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centen ...
award in 2003. He attended the annual Beta Theta Pi conventions and was annually honored for his lifetime achievement, regularly taking the podium to sing the
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
Franklin Pierce Law Center
The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law is a public law school in Concord, New Hampshire, associated with the University of New Hampshire. It is the only law school in the state and was founded in 1973 by Robert H. Rines as ...
, which is recognized for its strong patent program, and which awarded Chittick an honorary degree in 2005.