John McMullen (engineer)

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Please improve this article if you can. (November 2007)

John J. McMullen, Ph.D (Born 1918 in Jersey City, New Jersey - Died September 16, 2005 in Montclair, New Jersey) was a naval architect and marine engineer, and former owner of the New Jersey Devils and Houston Astros.

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[edit] Early life

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, McMullen later moved with his family to Montclair in 1929. He graduated from Montclair High School in 1936, and from the United States Naval Academy in 1940.[1][2]

[edit] Career

McMullen retired from the Navy with the rank of Commander after a 15-year career. He earned a Master of Science Degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from MIT, and a Ph.D in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

He founded John J. McMullen Associates, Inc. in 1959, an international firm of naval architects and marine engineers known for its innovations in commercial and naval ship design. In 1972, McMullen acquired Norton Lilly International, a shipping agency which he operated until 2002. Other endeavors included MPR Associates, Inc., a nuclear consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and from 1968–1971, he was President and CEO of United States Lines. He served the Bank of England as head of Burmah Oil Tankers for two years beginning in 1974.

McMullen served on the Naval Academy's Board of Visitors, where he reviewed all aspects of the school's educational curriculum. He was also Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. McMullen was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1996. He founded the McMullen Family Foundation, with an emphasis on education.

McMullen was a major collector of maritime art. His collection included 75 works by Antonio Jacobsen, the most prolific of maritime artists, with the first two Jacobsen paintings in his collection found in his father's ship repair business in the 1940s.[3]

McMullen was survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Jacqueline Everhart McMullen, and their beloved children, son Peter S. McMullen, and his wife Cheryl; daughter, Catherine McMullen; son John J. McMullen, Jr.; and five grandchildren: Elise and Peter S. McMullen, Jr.; and James, Bridget, and Timothy Blake.

[edit] Sporting interest

He bought the Colorado Rockies and in 1982 moved the team to East Rutherford, New Jersey renaming them the Devils. He won two Stanley Cups as the team's owner in 1995 and 2000. He later sold the team to George Steinbrenner.

He also owned the Houston Astros for a period of time.

[edit] References

  1. ^ LaPointe, Joe. "IN PERSON; At Home on the Ice", The New York Times, June 11, 1995. Accessed December 25, 2007. "The team's owner, John McMullen, is a local businessman and graduate of Montclair High School, but even he is exploring the possibility of carpetbagging the franchise to Nashville."
  2. ^ Goldstein, Richard. "John J. McMullen Dies at 87; Ex-Owner of Devils and Astros", The New York Times, September 18, 2005. Accessed December 25, 2007.
  3. ^ Falkenstein, Michelle, et al. "JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS", The New York Times, June 1, 2003. Accessed December 25, 2007. "Each ship has a little history, said Mr. McMullen, who said he owns 75 Jacobsens and found his first two in his father's ship repair business in Hoboken in the 1940's."

[edit] External links

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