Benjamin Brewster Jennings (June 9, 1898 – October 2, 1968) was a founder and president of the Socony-Vacuum company, which became, in 1955, the

Standard Oil Company of New York Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after it and Mobil merged in 1999. A direct descenda ...

(Socony), which would later become

Mobil Oil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after it and Mobil merged in 1999. A direct descenda ...

, and then merged to become part of

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

."High-Flying Horse"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', February 11, 1952, accessed May 5, 2007.

Early life

B. B. Jennings was born to Oliver Gould Jennings (1865-1936) and Mary Dows Brewster in New York City. Both his paternal grandfather,

Oliver Burr Jennings Oliver Burr Jennings (June 3, 1825 – February 12, 1893) was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil. Early life Jennings was born in 1825 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Abraham Gold Jennings and Anna (née B ...

(1825–1893), and his maternal grandfather, Benjamin Brewster (1828–1897) after whom he was named, were involved with Standard Oil co-founder John Davison Rockefeller and had become his partners in running the

Standard Oil Trust Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

. Both men had gone west in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

and had set up a successful dry goods merchandise business, outfitting prospecting camps along the coast and around

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

.Nicholas E. Hollis
"Jennings Farm: Nurturing Education and Entrepreneurial Spirits"
''Educational Pioneers'', ''Jennings Heritage Project'', n.d., accessed May 5, 2007. Through his paternal grandmother, Esther Judson Goodsell, B. B. Jennings was a grandnephew of Almira Geraldine Goodsell Rockefeller, whose husband was Standard Oil co-founder William Avery Rockefeller Jr. Jennings was raised in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

, where his father had built a forty-room French Renaissance style home called the Mailands. The building later became part of the campus of

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

and was renamed McAuliffe Hall. He attended St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as an ensign on a submarine chaser and was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

. In 1920, he graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was tapped for the secret society

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a Collegiate secret societies in North America, secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Collegiate secret societies in North America#Yale University, Ya ...

. He continued his involvement with Yale as an alumnus, serving as a member of the Yale Corporation Council and as chairman of the Yale Development Committee.

Career

After his graduation from Yale in 1920, Jennings began his career as a clerk in the marine department of the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony). He became a purchasing agent, then manager of the company's real estate department, and then assistant to the president. In 1939, eight years after Socony merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum, he was appointed to the board of directors and put in charge of transportation. In 1942, Jennings left the company to become assistant director of tanker operations in the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

and then assistant deputy administrator for tanker operations of the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. He was awarded the presidential certificate of merit for outstanding contributions to the war effort. He was also one of the first recipients of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award in October 1952, honored for his World War II services in the War Shipping Administration. After the end of the war he returned to the company and was named president and chairman of the executive committee. In 1955 he became chairman of the board and continued as chairman of the executive committee. Also in 1955, the company changed its name to Socony Mobil (renamed Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966). During his tenure as chief executive officer the company experienced rapid expansion, tripling its worldwide gross crude production. Jennings was vice president in charge of the transportation division of the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...

in 1947–1948 and its treasurer in 1949–1950. He was also a trustee of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research and the Avalon Foundation. Jennings continued as chief executive officer of Socony Mobil until his retirement in 1958.

Personal life

On June 18, 1923, Jennings married Kate deForest Prentice (1903–1994), daughter of John Hill Prentice and Kate Sheldon Harrison. They had three children: * Mary Brewster Jennings (1924–1995), who married

Yale law Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United States. Its yield ...

graduate Paul Jerome Chase, son of Dr. Oscar J. Chase of

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

, in 1947. * Kate deForest Jennings (1927–2002), who married Harry Havemeyer Webb, a son of James Watson Webb II and

Electra Havemeyer Webb Electra Havemeyer Webb (August 16, 1888 – November 19, 1960) was a collector of American antiques and founder of the Shelburne Museum. Early life Electra Havemeyer was born on August 16, 1888. She was the youngest child of Henry Osborne Hav ...

, in 1947. * John Prentice Jennings (1929–2011), who married Mary Ann Kelly, daughter of Albert C. Kelly of Nassau, in 1955. In 1968, Jennings died at Roosevelt Hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after a short illness. He was 70 years old and lived in

Glen Head, New York Glen Head is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Brewster 1898 births 1968 deaths People from Fairfield, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni Yale University alumni Founders of the petroleum industry American businesspeople in the oil industry Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) 20th-century American businesspeople ExxonMobil people People from Glen Head, New York

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References