Charles Pratt
Encyclopedia
Charles Pratt was a United States
capitalist
, businessman and philanthropist
.
Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry
, and established his kerosene
refinery Astral Oil Works
in Brooklyn, New York. An advertising slogan was "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil." He recruited Henry H. Rogers
into his business, forming Charles Pratt and Company
in 1867. Seven years later, it became part of John D. Rockefeller
's Standard Oil
.
An advocate of education, Pratt founded and endowed the Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, now a renowned art college. He and his children built mansions in Glen Cove, New York, part of what was called the Gold Coast
on the North Shore of Long Island. In 1916, Standard Oil had a steamship tanker, S.S. Charles Pratt, first of its class, built at Newport News, Virginia
. He lived in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
.
, one of eleven children. His father, Asa Pratt, was a carpenter. He spent three winters as a student at Wesleyan Academy (now Wilbraham & Monson Academy
).
products. In 1850 or 1851, he came to New York City
, where he worked for a similar company.
Pratt recognized the potential for replacement of whale oil
with petroleum ("natural oil") distillates for lighting purposes. He became a pioneer of the petroleum industry
as new wells were established in western Pennsylvania in the 1860s. He soon established his kerosene
refinery Astral Oil Works
in Brooklyn, New York. Pratt's product later gave rise to the slogan, "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil."
, in the area of the new oil fields of Venango County
in western Pennsylvania. Previously, Pratt had bought whale oil from Charles Ellis in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
, the young men's coastal hometown. They struck a deal and pre-sold the entire output of their small venture, Wamsutta Oil Refinery
, at McClintocksville
near Oil City
to Pratt's company at a fixed price. But, a flaw in the deal was that Ellis and Rogers had no wells and were dependent upon purchasing crude oil to refine and sell to Pratt. A few months later, crude oil prices suddenly increased due to manipulation by speculators. The young entrepreneurs struggled to try to live up to their fixed-price contract with Pratt, but soon their surplus of funds was wiped out. Before long, they were heavily in debt to Pratt.
Charles Ellis gave up, but in 1866, Henry Rogers went to Pratt in New York City
and told him he would take personal responsibility for the entire debt. This so impressed Pratt that he immediately hired Rogers for his own organization. Pratt made Rogers foreman of his Brooklyn refinery, with a promise of a partnership if sales ran over $50,000 annually. Rogers, his wife Abbie
, and their baby Anne moved to the Greenpoint
section of Brooklyn
, New York
. The Rogers family lived frugally and young Henry worked hard. Abbie brought his meals to the "works", and often he would sleep there. Rogers moved steadily from foreman to manager, and then superintendent of Pratt's Astral Oil Refinery
. Pratt soon gave Rogers an interest in the business. In 1867, with Rogers as a partner, he established the firm of Charles Pratt and Company
. In the next few year Rogers became, in the words of Elbert Hubbard, Pratt's "hands and feet and eyes and ears" (Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen, 1909).
's South Improvement Company
, designed to obtain favorable net rates from the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) and other railroads through a secret system of rebates. Rockefeller and the South Improvement Company scheme outraged independent oil producers and refineries in western Pennsylvania and other areas. Rogers led the opposition to the South Improvement Company scheme among the New York refiners. The New York interests formed an association, and about the middle of March 1872, sent a committee of three, with Rogers as head, to Oil City to consult with the Oil Producers' Union there.
Working with the Pennsylvania independents, Rogers and his associates forged an agreement with the PRR and other railroads whose leaders eventually agreed to open rates to all and promised to end their special dealings with South Improvement. The oil men felt victorious, but Rockefeller had already begun to form his Standard Oil
organization and was busy buying-up opposing interests.
A short time later, Rockefeller approached Charles Pratt with plans for cooperation and consolidation. Pratt talked it over with Rogers, and they decided that the combination would benefit them. Rogers formulated terms which guaranteed financial security and jobs for Pratt and him. Rockefeller accepted the offer on Rogers' exact terms. Charles Pratt and Company(including Astral Oil) became one of the important former independent refiners to join Rockefeller's organization; it became part of the Standard Oil Trust in 1874. Pratt's eldest son, Charles Millard Pratt
(1855–1935), became Secretary of Standard Oil.
Although the merger made Pratt a wealthy man, as a member of the board of directors of Standard Oil, he frequently criticized Rockefeller, who was always respectful to him. With Pratt's death in 1891, Rockefeller's position as the most powerful man in the oil industry, already well established, became unassailable.
Pratt's former protégé, Henry H. Rogers, rose to become one of the key men of Standard Oil, and was a Vice-President by 1890. Rogers, who maintained his residence in New York City after moving there at Pratt's request, also invested outside of Standard Oil. He became one of the wealthiest men in the world. He had interests in oil, gas, steel, copper, coal, and railroads, and eventually founded and built the Virginian Railway
, completed in 1909 at the end of his own career.
, which opened in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
in 1887.
Charles Millard Pratt
(1855–1913) and Lydia Richardson Pratt (1857–1904), who married Frank Lusk Babbott
.
After his wife Lydia's early death, Pratt married her younger sister Mary Helen Richardson in September 1863. They had six children:
about 1890. To provide for his children, he purchased large tracts of land surrounding his estate, totaling 1,100 acres (4.5 km²). He died the next year, aged 60, in New York City
.
Charles Pratt's six sons and two daughters later built their own homes at Glen Cove. As of 2004, most of the extant Pratt mansions along the Gold Coast are still in use:
After 1939, both ships were operated by Panama Transport Co., a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey. At the beginning of World War II
, on December 21, 1940, the S.S. Charles Pratt was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in the Indian Ocean
220 miles (354.1 km) off the coast of Africa
while en route from Aruba
to Freetown
, Sierra Leone
. Of the American crew of 42, only two men died.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, businessman and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
, and established his kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
refinery Astral Oil Works
Astral Oil Works
Astral Oil Works was founded in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York by Charles Pratt. Pratt was a pioneer of the petroleum industry who formed Charles Pratt and Company with Henry H. Rogers. The Pratt interests became part of John D...
in Brooklyn, New York. An advertising slogan was "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil." He recruited Henry H. Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
into his business, forming Charles Pratt and Company
Charles Pratt and Company
Charles Pratt and Company was an oil company that was formed in Brooklyn, New York, in the United States by Charles Pratt and Henry H. Rogers in 1867. It became part of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil organization in 1874....
in 1867. Seven years later, it became part of John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
's Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
.
An advocate of education, Pratt founded and endowed the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn, now a renowned art college. He and his children built mansions in Glen Cove, New York, part of what was called the Gold Coast
North Shore (Long Island)
The North Shore of Long Island is the area along Long Island's northern coast, bordering Long Island Sound. The region has long been the most affluent on Long Island, as well as the most affluent in the New York metropolitan area, which has earned it the nickname "the Gold Coast." Though some...
on the North Shore of Long Island. In 1916, Standard Oil had a steamship tanker, S.S. Charles Pratt, first of its class, built at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
. He lived in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...
.
Early life and education
Charles Pratt was born in Watertown, MassachusettsWatertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, one of eleven children. His father, Asa Pratt, was a carpenter. He spent three winters as a student at Wesleyan Academy (now Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy is a prep school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is one of the fifteen oldest schools on the eastern coast of the United States. It is a four year boarding and day high school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduate. The academy is located in...
).
Whale oil, petroleum, Astral Oil
In nearby Boston, Massachusetts, Pratt joined a company specializing in paints and whale oilWhale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
products. In 1850 or 1851, he came to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he worked for a similar company.
Pratt recognized the potential for replacement of whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
with petroleum ("natural oil") distillates for lighting purposes. He became a pioneer of the petroleum industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
as new wells were established in western Pennsylvania in the 1860s. He soon established his kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
refinery Astral Oil Works
Astral Oil Works
Astral Oil Works was founded in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York by Charles Pratt. Pratt was a pioneer of the petroleum industry who formed Charles Pratt and Company with Henry H. Rogers. The Pratt interests became part of John D...
in Brooklyn, New York. Pratt's product later gave rise to the slogan, "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil."
Henry H. Rogers, Charles Pratt and Company
In the mid-1860s, Pratt met two aspiring young men, Charles Ellis and Henry H. RogersHenry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
, in the area of the new oil fields of Venango County
Venango County, Pennsylvania
Venango County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,984. Its county seat is Franklin.-History:Venango County was created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties...
in western Pennsylvania. Previously, Pratt had bought whale oil from Charles Ellis in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located on the south coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean...
, the young men's coastal hometown. They struck a deal and pre-sold the entire output of their small venture, Wamsutta Oil Refinery
Wamsutta Oil Refinery
Wamsutta Oil Refinery was established around 1861 in McClintocksville in Venango County near Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was the first business enterprise of Henry Huttleston Rogers , who became a famous capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist.-...
, at McClintocksville
McClintocksville, Pennsylvania
McClintocksville, Pennsylvania was a small community in Cornplanter Township in Venango County located in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States.- History :...
near Oil City
Oil City, Pennsylvania
Oil City is a city in Venango County, Pennsylvania that is known in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry. After the first oil wells were drilled nearby in the 1850s, Oil City became central in the petroleum industry while hosting headquarters for the Pennzoil, Quaker...
to Pratt's company at a fixed price. But, a flaw in the deal was that Ellis and Rogers had no wells and were dependent upon purchasing crude oil to refine and sell to Pratt. A few months later, crude oil prices suddenly increased due to manipulation by speculators. The young entrepreneurs struggled to try to live up to their fixed-price contract with Pratt, but soon their surplus of funds was wiped out. Before long, they were heavily in debt to Pratt.
Charles Ellis gave up, but in 1866, Henry Rogers went to Pratt in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and told him he would take personal responsibility for the entire debt. This so impressed Pratt that he immediately hired Rogers for his own organization. Pratt made Rogers foreman of his Brooklyn refinery, with a promise of a partnership if sales ran over $50,000 annually. Rogers, his wife Abbie
Abbie G. Rogers
Abbie Gifford Rogers , was the first wife of Henry Huttleston Rogers, , a United States capitalist, businesswoman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist....
, and their baby Anne moved to the Greenpoint
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the...
section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The Rogers family lived frugally and young Henry worked hard. Abbie brought his meals to the "works", and often he would sleep there. Rogers moved steadily from foreman to manager, and then superintendent of Pratt's Astral Oil Refinery
Astral Oil Works
Astral Oil Works was founded in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York by Charles Pratt. Pratt was a pioneer of the petroleum industry who formed Charles Pratt and Company with Henry H. Rogers. The Pratt interests became part of John D...
. Pratt soon gave Rogers an interest in the business. In 1867, with Rogers as a partner, he established the firm of Charles Pratt and Company
Charles Pratt and Company
Charles Pratt and Company was an oil company that was formed in Brooklyn, New York, in the United States by Charles Pratt and Henry H. Rogers in 1867. It became part of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil organization in 1874....
. In the next few year Rogers became, in the words of Elbert Hubbard, Pratt's "hands and feet and eyes and ears" (Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen, 1909).
Standard Oil
In the early 1870s, Pratt and Rogers became involved in conflicts with John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
's South Improvement Company
South Improvement Company
The South Improvement Company was a Pennsylvania corporation in 1871-1872. It was created by major railroad interests, but was widely seen as part of John D. Rockefeller's early efforts to organize and control the oil and natural gas industries in the United States which eventually became Standard...
, designed to obtain favorable net rates from the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) and other railroads through a secret system of rebates. Rockefeller and the South Improvement Company scheme outraged independent oil producers and refineries in western Pennsylvania and other areas. Rogers led the opposition to the South Improvement Company scheme among the New York refiners. The New York interests formed an association, and about the middle of March 1872, sent a committee of three, with Rogers as head, to Oil City to consult with the Oil Producers' Union there.
Working with the Pennsylvania independents, Rogers and his associates forged an agreement with the PRR and other railroads whose leaders eventually agreed to open rates to all and promised to end their special dealings with South Improvement. The oil men felt victorious, but Rockefeller had already begun to form his Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
organization and was busy buying-up opposing interests.
A short time later, Rockefeller approached Charles Pratt with plans for cooperation and consolidation. Pratt talked it over with Rogers, and they decided that the combination would benefit them. Rogers formulated terms which guaranteed financial security and jobs for Pratt and him. Rockefeller accepted the offer on Rogers' exact terms. Charles Pratt and Company(including Astral Oil) became one of the important former independent refiners to join Rockefeller's organization; it became part of the Standard Oil Trust in 1874. Pratt's eldest son, Charles Millard Pratt
Charles Millard Pratt
Charles Millard Pratt was an American oil industrialist and philanthropist.-Early life:Pratt was born and raised in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the eldest son of Charles Pratt and Lydia Ann Richardson....
(1855–1935), became Secretary of Standard Oil.
Although the merger made Pratt a wealthy man, as a member of the board of directors of Standard Oil, he frequently criticized Rockefeller, who was always respectful to him. With Pratt's death in 1891, Rockefeller's position as the most powerful man in the oil industry, already well established, became unassailable.
Pratt's former protégé, Henry H. Rogers, rose to become one of the key men of Standard Oil, and was a Vice-President by 1890. Rogers, who maintained his residence in New York City after moving there at Pratt's request, also invested outside of Standard Oil. He became one of the wealthiest men in the world. He had interests in oil, gas, steel, copper, coal, and railroads, and eventually founded and built the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
, completed in 1909 at the end of his own career.
Legacy and honors
Charles Pratt is credited with recognizing the growing need for trained industrial workers in a changing economy. In 1886, he founded and endowed the Pratt InstitutePratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, which opened in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...
in 1887.
Marriage and family children
In 1854, Charles Pratt married Lydia Ann Richardson (1835–1861). They had two children:Charles Millard Pratt
Charles Millard Pratt
Charles Millard Pratt was an American oil industrialist and philanthropist.-Early life:Pratt was born and raised in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the eldest son of Charles Pratt and Lydia Ann Richardson....
(1855–1913) and Lydia Richardson Pratt (1857–1904), who married Frank Lusk Babbott
Frank Lusk Babbott
Frank Lusk Babbott was a multimillionaire jute merchant, art collector, patron, and philanthropist.-Early life:Babbott was born in Waterville, New York, the son of Miller Babbott and Mary Elizabeth Crandall.-Education:...
.
After his wife Lydia's early death, Pratt married her younger sister Mary Helen Richardson in September 1863. They had six children:
- Frederic B. PrattFrederic B. PrattFrederic Bayley Pratt was the president of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute for 44 years, from 1893-1937.-Early life:He was born in Brooklyn NY, the son of Standard Oil magnate Charles Pratt and Mary Helen Richardson....
(1865–1945); - Helen Pratt (1867–1949);
- George Dupont PrattGeorge Dupont PrattGeorge Dupont Pratt was an American conservationist, philanthropist, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities.-Early life:...
(1869–1935); - Herbert L. PrattHerbert L. PrattHerbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry.- Early life :...
(1871–1945); - John Teele PrattJohn Teele PrattJohn Teele Pratt was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.- Early life :...
(1873–1927) and - Harold I. PrattHarold I. PrattHarold Irving Pratt 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 1923-1939.- Early life :...
(1877–1939)
Long Island Gold Coast mansions
Pratt settled in Glen Cove, New YorkGlen Cove, New York
Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 26,964....
about 1890. To provide for his children, he purchased large tracts of land surrounding his estate, totaling 1,100 acres (4.5 km²). He died the next year, aged 60, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Charles Pratt's six sons and two daughters later built their own homes at Glen Cove. As of 2004, most of the extant Pratt mansions along the Gold Coast are still in use:
- Welwyn, originally the home of Harold I. PrattHarold I. PrattHarold Irving Pratt 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 1923-1939.- Early life :...
, is now owned by the Nassau County Museum. - The Braes, originally owned by Herbert L. PrattHerbert L. PrattHerbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry.- Early life :...
, is now the Webb InstituteWebb InstituteThe Webb Institute is a specialized private college in Glen Cove, New York that has only one program, which is undergraduate. Each graduate of Webb Institute earns a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.- History :...
of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. - The Manor House, built for John Teele PrattJohn Teele PrattJohn Teele Pratt was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.- Early life :...
, is now the Glen Cove Mansion Hotel & Conference Center. - Poplar Hill, the Frederic B. PrattFrederic B. PrattFrederic Bayley Pratt was the president of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute for 44 years, from 1893-1937.-Early life:He was born in Brooklyn NY, the son of Standard Oil magnate Charles Pratt and Mary Helen Richardson....
house, is now owned by Glengariff Nursing Home. - Killenworth, originally the house of George Dupont PrattGeorge Dupont PrattGeorge Dupont Pratt was an American conservationist, philanthropist, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities.-Early life:...
, is now the retreat for the Russian Delegation to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Other notable Pratt family members
- Charles Pratt's great-grandson Andy PrattAndy Pratt (singer-songwriter)Andy Pratt is an American rock music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In the 1970s, he made a number of experimental records that were appreciated by small audiences, and scored a commercial hit with "Avenging Annie"....
(born 1947 in BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
), whose father Edwin H Baker PrattEdwin H Baker PrattEdwin Howard Baker Pratt , was an American educator and headmaster of Buckingham Browne & Nichols.-Early life:...
was headmaster of the school Buckingham Browne & NicholsBuckingham Browne & NicholsBuckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is a private school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Charles River. The school educates students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was established by a merge of two independent schools, the Buckingham School founded...
, is a singer-songwriter. - Herbert Pratt was a guitar-playing adventurer and eccentric much admired by Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, who met him in Italy and may have used him as the model for the character "Gabriel Nash" in The Tragic MuseThe Tragic MuseThe Tragic Muse is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1889-1890 and then as a book in 1890...
. - Charle's Pratt's granddaughter Phyllis Pratt (daughter of John Teele PrattJohn Teele PrattJohn Teele Pratt was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.- Early life :...
) was married to arms-control negotiator Paul NitzePaul NitzePaul Henry Nitze was a high-ranking United States government official who helped shape Cold War defense policy over the course of numerous presidential administrations.-Early life, education, and family:...
. - Charles Pratt II Charles Pratt's grandson, was a notable photographer, publishing several books of photographs and prose including The Garden and the Wilderness, Here on the Island, Edge of the City, The Rocky Coast, and a children's book called At Night. He was Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
's photographer for Silent SpringSilent SpringSilent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
and A Sense of Wonder. - Suzanne Pratt, a great-great-granddaughter of Charles Pratt, is a correspondent for the public television program, Nightly Business Report, in New York.
- Noni Pratt, a great-granddaughter of Charles Pratt, helped found Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MassachusettsLenox, MassachusettsLenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
. in 1978. Today she is an artist known for her large-scale installation and performance-related work in a long-term collaboration with Merry Conway. - Zachary Pratt Remsen, a great-great-great grandson of Charles Pratt, is a former President of the Student Government Association of the Robins School of Business at the University of RichmondUniversity of RichmondThe University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
.
Steamship tanker S.S. Charles Pratt
In March 1916, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company launched the S.S. Charles Pratt, a tanker of 8,807 tons with a capacity of 119410 barrels (18,984,672.9 l) of oil. It became the first ship of the Pratt class, and was joined by the S.S. H.H. Rogers in May, 1916.After 1939, both ships were operated by Panama Transport Co., a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey. At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, on December 21, 1940, the S.S. Charles Pratt was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
220 miles (354.1 km) off the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
while en route from Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
to Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. Of the American crew of 42, only two men died.
See also
- Henry H. RogersHenry H. RogersHenry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
- Standard OilStandard OilStandard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
- Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
- Ida M. TarbellIda M. TarbellIda Minerva Tarbell was an American teacher, author and journalist. She was known as one of the leading "muckrakers" of the progressive era, work known in modern times as "investigative journalism". She wrote many notable magazine series and biographies...