Herbert L. Pratt
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Herbert Lee Pratt (November 21, 1871 – February 3, 1945) was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry. In 1923, he became head of
Standard Oil of New York Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
; his father
Charles Pratt Charles Pratt (October 2, 1830 – May 4, 1891) was an American businessman. Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and he established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. He then lived with his growing fam ...
was a founder of
Astral Oil Works Astral Oil Works was an American oil company specializing in illuminating oil, and based in Brooklyn, New York. Astral Oil was a high-quality kerosene used in lamps and noted for being relatively safe. It was founded by Charles Pratt. Charles Pra ...
, which later became part of Standard Oil. He lived and worked in New York City, as well as having a country estate, "The Braes" in
Glen Cove, Long Island Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of the 2020 census. The city was considered part of the early 20th century G ...
, and a hunting preserve and estate, "Good Hope Plantation" in
Ridgeland, South Carolina Ridgeland is a town in Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census, a 7.1% decrease from 2010. It has been the county seat of Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. As defin ...
. He was also an art collector and philanthropist.


Early life

Pratt was born in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on November 21, 1871. He was the fourth of six children of the Standard Oil industrialist
Charles Pratt Charles Pratt (October 2, 1830 – May 4, 1891) was an American businessman. Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and he established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. He then lived with his growing fam ...
, and Mary Helen (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Richardson) Pratt (1840–1907), his father's second wife. His siblings included
Frederic B. Pratt Frederic Bayley Pratt (22 February 1865 – 3 May 1945) was an American heir, the president of the board of trustees of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute for 44 years, from 1893 to 1937, and president of the United States Olympic Committee in 1910. ...
,
George Dupont Pratt George Dupont Pratt (August 16, 1869 – January 20, 1935) was an American conservationist, philanthropist, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities. Early life Pratt was born on August 16, 1869, and raised ...
, Helen Pratt,
John Teele Pratt John Teele Pratt (December 25, 1873 – June 17, 1927) was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier. Early life Pratt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 25, 1873. He was one of six children born ...
(husband of
Ruth Baker Pratt Ruth Sears Pratt (née Baker; August 24, 1877 – August 23, 1965), was an American politician and the first female representative to be elected from New York. Early life On August 24, 1877, Pratt was born as Ruth Sears Baker in Ware, Mas ...
, the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York) and
Harold I. Pratt Harold Irving Pratt (February 1, 1877 – May 29, 1939) was an American oil industrialist and philanthropist. A director of Standard Oil of New Jersey, he also served on the Council of Foreign Relations from 1923 to 1939. Early life He was bor ...
. From his father's first marriage to Lydia Richardson (the elder sister of his mother), who died young in 1861, his older half-siblings were
Charles Millard Pratt Charles Millard Pratt (November 2, 1855 – November 27, 1935) was an American oil industrialist, educator, and philanthropist. As the eldest son of industrialist Charles Pratt, in 1875 he began working at Charles Pratt and Company, soon beco ...
and Lydia Richardson Pratt. His paternal grandparents were carpenter Asa Pratt and Elizabeth (née Stone) Pratt. His maternal grandparents were Thomas H. Richardson and Lydia (née Teel) Richardson. He took a degree of Bachelor of Arts at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
in 1895,"Herbert Lee Pratt (1871-1945)"
Passportland website, 2010-2012, accessed 25 February 2012
a classmate of future president
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
.


Career

After his graduation from Amherst, he became a clerk at
Bergen Point Bergen Point is a point of land that lends its name to the adjacent neighborhood in Bayonne in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The point is located on the north side of Kill van Kull at Newark Bay. It is the section of the city c ...
Chemical Works. He later became assistant to the manager of the Pratt Works and factories in Brooklyn and the manager of the
Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...
and Long Island Works. Like his father, who was a pioneer in the independent oil industry and accepted a merger with Standard Oil, Pratt was a leading figure in the U.S. oil industry. On June 1, 1923, he was elected to replace
Henry Clay Folger Henry Clay Folger Jr. (June 18, 1857 – June 11, 1930) was president and later chairman of Standard Oil of New York, a collector of Shakespeareana, and founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Early life Henry Clay Folger Jr. was born in New ...
as head of
Standard Oil Company of New York Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
, also known as Socony (which eventually became known as
Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
). After the announcement, he was featured on the June 11, 1923 cover of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''. In 1928, after Charles F. Meyer became president of Standard Oil of New York, Pratt became chairman of the board. In 1931, when Socony merged with the
Vacuum Oil Company Vacuum Oil Company was an American oil company known for its ''Gargoyle'' 600-W steam cylinder motor oil. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Standar ...
, Pratt was elected chairman of the board of the new Socony-Vacuum Corporation, which had capital of $1,000,000,000. Pratt retired as chairman on June 1, 1935 after forty years of service. He was also a director of
Bankers Trust Company Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpor ...
from 1917 to 1938,
Asia Banking Corporation Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, the
American Can Company The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amon ...
,
Stone & Webster Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles A. Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. In the early ...
and the
Charles Pratt and Company Charles Pratt and Company was an oil company that was formed in 1867 by Charles Pratt and Henry H. Rogers in Brooklyn, New York. It became part of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil organization in 1874. History Pratt, born in Watertown, Massachu ...
.


Personal life

On April 28, 1897, Pratt married Florence Balsdon Gibb (1873–1935). Florence, a graduate of
Packer Collegiate Institute The Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent college preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Formerly the Brooklyn Female Academy, Packer has been located at 170 Joralemon Street in the historic district of Br ...
, a daughter of Harriet (née Balsdon) Gibb and John Gibb, a leading merchant who was the head of Loeser & Co. In 1927, Florence was the first woman elected to the State Board of Regents. Together, Herbert and Florence were the parents of five children: * Edith Gibb Pratt (1898–1956), who married Allan McLane Jr., a son of Judge Allan McLane, in 1919. They divorced in 1934 and she married Howard W. Maxwell Jr., a grandson of John Rogers Maxwell Sr., in 1946. * Herbert Lee Pratt Jr. (1900–1974), who married Hope Gordon Winchester, daughter of Lycurgus Winchester of Baltimore, in 1926. * Harriet Balsdon Pratt (1901–1978), who married Lawrence Bell Van Ingen, son of Edward Hook Van Ingen Jr., in 1923. They divorced in 1938, and later that same year she married Donald Fairfax Bush. * Florence Gibb Pratt (1905–1965), who married Francis Edward Powell Jr., son of Francis Edward Powell who represented the Standard Oil Company in Germany and later in England. * Frederic Richardson Pratt (1907–1966), who married Pauline Dixon Dodge; after his death, she married landscape architect Richard K. Webel in 1969. On January 2, 1935, his wife died at their New York residence, 1027 Fifth Avenue. Pratt died on February 3, 1945 at the age of 73 at
834 Fifth Avenue 834 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It is located on Fifth Avenue at the corner of 64th Street (Manhattan), East 64th Street opposite the Central Park Zoo. The limesto ...
, his home in
Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
. After a funeral at St. James' Episcopal Church on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
and 71st Street, he was buried in Pratt Cemetery, the family cemetery in
Lattingtown, New York Lattingtown is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village located within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The p ...
.


Residences

Pratt was a native of the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. His mansion at 213 Clinton Avenue was constructed in 1908, but, in 1914, the Pratt's moved to
640 Park Avenue 64 or sixty-four or ''variation'', may refer to: * 64 (number) Dates * one of the years 64 BC, AD 64, 1864, 1964, 2064, etc. * June 4th (6/4) ** the date of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre * April 6th (6/4) * April 6 AD (6/4) * J ...
in Manhattan, a luxury building designed by
J. E. R. Carpenter James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr. (January 7, 1867 – June 11, 1932) was the leading architect of luxury residential high-rise buildings in New York City in the early 1900s. Biography He studied at the University of Tennessee and at the Mas ...
. In 1916, the 12-story
907 Fifth Avenue 907 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 12-story, limestone-faced building is located at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on a site once occupied by the 1893 residence of James A ...
building, also designed by Carpenter, was completed, and Pratt, then vice president of Standard Oil, rented the largest apartment, 25 rooms and eight baths, occupying the entire top floor, at an annual rent of $30,000. It was the first building developed to replace one of the mansions previously fronting on Central Park. Pratt soon outgrew this residence and moved again to the 1027 Fifth Avenue, a 40 ft. wide residence that was the central of three Beaux-Arts mansions at 84th and Fifth Avenue. Their neighbors included
Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly (January 8, 1854 – April 11, 1952) was an American socialite and heiress. She was a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. She and her husband Hamilton McKown Twombly built Florham, a gilded age estate in Ma ...
at 1028 Fifth Avenue. In 1936, a year after his wife's death, he sold 1027 Fifth Avenue to the Marymount School, who had owned Mrs. Twombly's home since 1926, and combined the building with its neighbors but preserved all the exteriors and much of the interiors. His country estate, "The Braes", in
Glen Cove, Long Island Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of the 2020 census. The city was considered part of the early 20th century G ...
, was built in 1912–14 and designed by
James Brite James Brite (September 13, 1864''U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925'' – February 6, 1942) was an American architect. Early life James Brite was born in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, the son of George W. Brite and Mary Richardson.https: ...
in the neo-Jacobean style. It was the largest of the six Pratt family mansions at Glen Cove. It is now part of the
Webb Institute Webb Institute is a private college focused on engineering and located in Glen Cove, New York. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Successful candidates for admission r ...
. Pratt also built "Homewood" for his daughter Edith and "Preference" in Lattingtown for his daughter Harriet, both designed by
Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was one of the outstanding American Beaux-Arts architecture, Be ...
. In 1910, Pratt bought the Good Hope plantation and hunting lodge in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
(about five miles (8 km) from Ridgeland) from Harry B. Hollins, also of Long Island. For several years, the Pratt family leased
Yester } Gifford is a village in the parish of Yester in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies approximately south of Haddington and east of Edinburgh. It groups around the Colstoun Water (locally called Gifford Water) at the junction of the B6369 and B6 ...
, an old castle on the Moors in
East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
for the shooting season. Pratt also spent summer months at his Japanese themed "camp,"
Pine Tree Point Pine Tree Point is an Adirondack Great Camp on Upper St. Regis Lake. History Pine Tree Point was the camp of Frederick William Vanderbilt, a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years. Vanderbilt maintained residences in New York Cit ...
, on
Upper St. Regis Lake Upper St. Regis Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State. Along with Lower St. Regis Lake and Spitfire Lake, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elit ...
in the
Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...
, which he purchased from
Frederick William Vanderbilt Frederick William Vanderbilt (February 2, 1856 – June 29, 1938) was a member of the American Vanderbilt family. He was a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years, and also a director of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and o ...
in the early 1900s. He also spend some time at the Caughnawana Fishing and Hunting Club in
Quebec, Canada Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
.


Philanthropy

Pratt was an
art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...
, particularly of portraits and miniatures. In 1937, he was elected a trustee of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
. When Rotherwas Court, Herefordshire, England, was dismantled and auctioned in 1913, Pratt purchased the dining room for his neo-Jacobean mansion "The Braes," then under construction as a country estate in Glen Cove. His bequest to Amherst College included the Rotherwas Room and more than 80 American portraits and miniatures, as well as an extensive collection of decorative arts. The
Rotherwas Room The Rotherwas Room is an English Jacobean room currently in the Mead Art Museum, in Amherst College. It was originally installed in the estate of the Bodenham family called Rotherwas Court, in Herefordshire, England, as part of the country house ...
was incorporated into the
Mead Art Museum Mead Art Museum houses the fine art collection of Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949, the building is named after architect William Rutherford Mead (class of 1867), of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. ...
, when it was built at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
in 1949. The
Webb Institute Webb Institute is a private college focused on engineering and located in Glen Cove, New York. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. Successful candidates for admission r ...
of Naval Architecture acquired "The Braes" in 1945 for use as its campus. After renovation, it held its first classes there in 1947. Additions have included a library, model facility and other features.


Legacy

A Steamship was named after Herbert L Pratt. On June 3, 1918, the Herbert L Pratt struck a mine off Delaware laid by (). The Pratt was saved, salvaged and towed to port.


References


External links

* * ''Time'' magazine story
Herbert Pratt Estate Collection
at New York Heritage.
Herbert L. Pratt
portrait at the
Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two othe ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Herbert L. 1871 births 1945 deaths American businesspeople in the oil industry Philanthropists from New York (state) Amherst College Amherst College alumni People from Clinton Hill, Brooklyn People from Glen Cove, New York People from Ridgeland, South Carolina ExxonMobil people Directors of ExxonMobil American chief executives Charles Pratt family People from the Upper East Side