Herbert L. Pratt
Encyclopedia
Herbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry.
. He took a degree of Bachelor of Arts at Amherst College
in 1895.
He was brother to Frederic B. Pratt
, George Dupont Pratt
, John Teele Pratt
and Harold I. Pratt
; and half-brother to Charles Millard Pratt
.
Company of New York, from 1923. This company eventually became Mobil
.
Pratt was on the front cover of Time
on 11 June 1923, when he replaced Henry Clay Folger
as head of Standard Oil Company of New York.
Pratt was also a director of Bankers Trust Company from 1917-38, and Asia Banking Corporation.
His family estate, "The Braes", Glen Cove, Long Island is now the Webb Institute
of Naval Architecture. It was built in 1912-1914, the largest of the Pratt mansions at Glen Cove, and designed by James Brite in the neo-Jacobean style.
In 1910, he bought the 9000 acres (36.4 km²) Good Hope plantation and hunting lodge in South Carolina
(about five miles (8 km) from Ridgeland) from Harry B. Hollins
, also of Long Island.
In 1916, the first building to replace a Fifth Avenue mansion facing Central Park
, the 12-story 907 Fifth Avenue
, designed by J. E. R. Carpenter
, was completed. 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.
Pratt was an art collector, particularly portraits and miniatures. When Rotherwas Court, Herefordshire, was dismantled and auctioned in 1913, Pratt purchased the dining room for his neo-Jacobean mansion "The Braes," then under construction. His bequest to Amherst College included the Rotherwas Room and over eighty American portraits and miniatures, as well as an extensive collection of decorative arts. Rotherwas Room was incorporated into the Mead Art Museum
when it was built at Amherst College
in 1949.
Pratt died in New York on February 3, 1945, aged 73.
Early life
Pratt was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mary Helen (née Richardson) and Standard Oil industrialist Charles PrattCharles Pratt
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...
. He took a degree of Bachelor of Arts at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1895.
He was brother to Frederic B. Pratt
Frederic B. Pratt
Frederic 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....
, George Dupont Pratt
George Dupont Pratt
George Dupont Pratt was an American conservationist, philanthropist, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities.-Early life:...
, John Teele Pratt
John Teele Pratt
John Teele Pratt was an American corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.- Early life :...
and Harold I. Pratt
Harold I. Pratt
Harold 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 :...
; and half-brother to 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....
.
Career
Like his father before him, Pratt was a leading figure in the US oil industry, and head of Standard OilStandard 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...
Company of New York, from 1923. This company eventually became Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
.
Pratt was on the front cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
on 11 June 1923, when he replaced Henry Clay Folger
Henry Clay Folger
Henry Clay Folger was president and later chairman of Standard Oil of New York, a collector of Shakespeareana, and founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library.-Early life:...
as head of Standard Oil Company of New York.
Pratt was also a director of Bankers Trust Company from 1917-38, and Asia Banking Corporation.
Heritage and philanthropy
Webb Institute
The 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. It was built in 1912-1914, the largest of the Pratt mansions at Glen Cove, and designed by James Brite in the neo-Jacobean style.
In 1910, he bought the 9000 acres (36.4 km²) Good Hope plantation and hunting lodge in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(about five miles (8 km) from Ridgeland) from Harry B. Hollins
H. B. Hollins
Harry Bowly Hollins was an American financier, banker, and railroad magnate. He was responsible for organizing the banking and brokerage firm bearing his name, H.B. Hollins & Co. in 1878.-Life and business:...
, also of Long Island.
In 1916, the first building to replace a Fifth Avenue mansion facing Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, the 12-story 907 Fifth Avenue
907 Fifth Avenue
907 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City.The twelve-story, limestone-faced building is located at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street on a site once occupied by the 1893 residence of James A. Burden, which had been designed by R. H. Robertson...
, designed by J. E. R. Carpenter
James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr.
James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr. was the leading architect of luxury residential high-rise buildings in New York City in the early 1900s. He studied at the University of Tennessee and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1884...
, was completed. 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.
Pratt was an art collector, particularly portraits and miniatures. When Rotherwas Court, Herefordshire, was dismantled and auctioned in 1913, Pratt purchased the dining room for his neo-Jacobean mansion "The Braes," then under construction. His bequest to Amherst College included the Rotherwas Room and over eighty American portraits and miniatures, as well as an extensive collection of decorative arts. Rotherwas Room was incorporated into the Mead Art Museum
Mead Art Museum
Mead Art Museum is an art museum associated with Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts and is a member of Museums10.The Mead Art Museum has a wide ranging collection of over 16,000 items, with a particular strength in American art, including notable works of the Hudson River School and woodcut...
when it was built at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1949.
Personal life
On 28 April 1897, Pratt married Florence Balsdon Gibb (daughter of John Gibb), and they had five children:- Edith G Pratt
- Herbert Lee Pratt Jr (1900-)
- Harriet B Pratt, who married Lawrence B. Van Ingen of Manhattan in 1923
- Florence G Pratt
- Frederic Richardson Pratt (1907-1966)
Pratt died in New York on February 3, 1945, aged 73.