Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr.

Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr.

Dodge in 1930
Born July 29, 1908
Madison, New Jersey
Died August 29, 1930 (aged 22)
France
Parent(s) Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr.
Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller

Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr. (July 29, 1908 – August 29, 1930) was the heir to the Remington-Rockefeller fortune who died in a car accident in France.[1] He lived at Giralda Farms in Madison, New Jersey.

Life

He was born in Madison, New Jersey to Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller and Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr.[2]

He was a grandson of William A. Rockefeller Jr., co-founder of Standard Oil, great-grandson of Remington Arms Company founder Marcellus Hartley, and grandnephew of Standard Oil's other co-founder, John D. Rockefeller. Dodge was often referred to as "Hartley."[3]

Dodge was instantly killed in an automobile accident on August 29, 1930, when his automobile struck a tree on the Bayonne-Bordeaux road in Mogesca, France shortly after his graduation from Princeton University in June 1930, where he played football. The car caught fire and two passing motorists, Henri Dupin, and Paul Theau, pulled out Dodge's dead body, and the still living Ralph Applegate. Dodge's carotid artery had been severed, and the car engine was pushed against the back seat. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr. went to the site of the accident and looked at the car and talked to the two men who pulled the bodies out of the wreck.[3][4][5] His mother, Geraldine, had sent him there as a diversion from his hobby of aviation, which she felt was too dangerous.[6] He was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Legacy

His parents provided for the Dodge Gateway on Princeton's campus in 1933 in his memory.[7] In addition, the Dodges contributed to the construction of the gymnasium at Columbia University that is also named in his honor, the Marcellus Hartley Dodge Physical Fitness Center. Dodge's mother also gave Madison, New Jersey the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building that was dedicated on Memorial Day, Thursday, May 30, 1935 to house its police department.[8] This building now houses Madison's Borough Hall. He also is the namesake of the memorial donated by his mother at the Great Swamp, which was founded with extensive efforts by his father.

External list

References

  1. ↑ "Madison remembered Hartley Dodge on his 100th birthday". NJ.com. August 13, 2008. Retrieved 2010-11-17. Hartley was the only son of Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, daughter of Standard Oil co-founder William Rockefeller, and Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr., great-grandson of Marcellus Hartley, founder of the Remington Arms Company. He was killed instantly at the age of 22 years and one month on Aug. 29, 1930, in a crash when his automobile struck a tree on the Bayonne-Bordeaux road in Mogesco, France.
  2. ↑ "Marcellus Hartley Dodge Dies. Ex-Remington Arms Chairman. Philanthropist Inherited $60 Million". New York Times. December 26, 1963. Retrieved 2007-05-30. Marcellus Hartley Dodge, honorary chairman of the board of Remington Arms Company, died here today at his home. He was 82 years old and lived at Giralda Farms
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "M. H. Dodge Jr. Killed in French Auto Crash. Kin of J.D. Rockefeller Was Heir to Fortune". New York Times. August 31, 1930. Retrieved 2007-05-30. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., grand-nephew of J.D. Rockefeller Jr., was instantly killed and his companion on an automobile trip in France, Ralph Applegate, was seriously injured when their car
  4. ↑ "Names make news". Time (magazine). July 16, 1928. Retrieved 2007-05-30. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., 19, junior at Princeton, grandnephew of John Davison Rockefeller, is spending his summer Dick" on the Randall, O-T-O near dude ranch of Livingston, Montana. "Pretty One afternoon last week, a non-dude native remarked: "These Easterners don't know nothing about ridin'." Young Dodge, piqued, boarded a wild steer, rode him without falling off, conquered him. Later, he performed creditably in a rodeo.
  5. ↑ "Killed". Time (magazine). September 8, 1930. Retrieved 2007-05-30. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., graduate of Princeton last June, son of the board chairman of Remington Arms Co., great-grandson of its founder Marcellus Hartley, grandnephew of John Davison Rockefeller Jr.; when a motor which he was driving struck a tree on the Bayonne-Bordeaux road in France where Dodge had been sent by his mother for diversion from aviation, which she considered a dangerous hobby.
  6. ↑ "Liner Will Bring Body of M.H. Dodge. Family Secretary Announces Coffin Will Leave Havre on lle de France Thursday. Visits Scene of Accident. Talks With Witnesses of the Tragedy and With Authorities at Magescq". New York Times. September 2, 1930. Retrieved 2007-05-30. The body of Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., who was killed on Friday in a motor accident near Bordeaux, was brought to Paris last night and will be sent to the United States on the liner Ile de France sailing from Havre on Sept.
  7. ↑ "Dodge Gateway". Princeton University. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  8. ↑ "Madison Police Department". Retrieved 2007-05-30. In 1935 the Police Department moved into the newly dedicated Hartley Dodge Memorial Building which was given to the borough by Mrs. Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge as a memorial to her son, Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr.