W. Alton Jones (third from left), president of War Emergency Pipelines Inc., with other officials at the dedication of the Big Inch oil pipeline (February 19, 1943)
Jones was born into a poor Missouri farm family of seven in 1891. He married his childhood sweetheart, Nettie Marie Marvin in 1914. In 1920 he became an executive with the energy company Cities Service Company, serving as president from 1940 to 1953. He rose to become one of the highest-paid CEOs in the United States.[1] During World War II, he became a hero of war production by building a secret dynamite production plant in Arkansas, an aviation fuelrefinery in Louisiana, and over 3,000 miles of oil pipelines from Texas to the East Coast that were vital to the war effort.
As an important supporter of the Republican Party, he met and became a very close personal friend of President Eisenhower. Jones was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in New York City on March 1, 1962, while on his way to join Eisenhower on a fishing trip.[1][2]
In 1944 he founded the W. Alton Jones Foundation "to promote the well-being and general good of mankind through out [sic] the world". The foundation supported various causes, such as the arts, education, and environmental activism, but split into three separate funds in 2001.
Immediately after his death, Jones' heirs donated his private hunting and fishing retreat (which had hosted President Eisenhower and the King of Nepal) to the University of Rhode Island, creating the W. Alton Jones Campus.[3][4]
alton, jones, william, alton, jones, april, 1891, march, 1962, president, conglomerate, cities, service, company, citgo, influential, industrialist, philanthropist, close, personal, friend, united, states, president, dwight, eisenhower, william, alton, jones, . William Alton Jones April 19 1891 March 1 1962 was president of the oil and gas conglomerate Cities Service Company now CITGO He was an influential industrialist philanthropist and close personal friend of United States President Dwight D Eisenhower 1 William Alton JonesW Alton Jones third from left president of War Emergency Pipelines Inc with other officials at the dedication of the Big Inch oil pipeline February 19 1943 BornApril 19 1891Webb City Missouri USDiedMarch 1 1962 1962 03 01 aged 70 Queens New York City USOther namesPete JonesEmployerCities Service CompanyPolitical partyRepublicanSpouseNettie Marie Marvin m 1914 1962 Children2 Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 Notes 4 External linksBiography EditJones was born into a poor Missouri farm family of seven in 1891 He married his childhood sweetheart Nettie Marie Marvin in 1914 In 1920 he became an executive with the energy company Cities Service Company serving as president from 1940 to 1953 He rose to become one of the highest paid CEOs in the United States 1 During World War II he became a hero of war production by building a secret dynamite production plant in Arkansas an aviation fuel refinery in Louisiana and over 3 000 miles of oil pipelines from Texas to the East Coast that were vital to the war effort As an important supporter of the Republican Party he met and became a very close personal friend of President Eisenhower Jones was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in New York City on March 1 1962 while on his way to join Eisenhower on a fishing trip 1 2 In 1944 he founded the W Alton Jones Foundation to promote the well being and general good of mankind through out sic the world The foundation supported various causes such as the arts education and environmental activism but split into three separate funds in 2001 Immediately after his death Jones heirs donated his private hunting and fishing retreat which had hosted President Eisenhower and the King of Nepal to the University of Rhode Island creating the W Alton Jones Campus 3 4 See also EditThe W Alton Jones Cell Science Center Burl S Watson Jones successor and President during his tenure as CEO Notes Edit a b c W Alton Jones 20th Century American Leaders Database Harvard Business School Accessed 25 July 2009 McCarthy Dave All s quiet at Whispering Pines The Providence Journal September 22 2005 Accessed 25 July 2009 Wenzel Jan Weddings In The Woods Rhode Island Roads Accessed 25 July 2009 Whispering Pines Conference Center Paul and Allison s Wedding Website Accessed 25 July 2009 External links EditW Alton Jones Campus University of Rhode Island The Whispering Pines Conference Center official site W Alton Jones Foundation Nettie Jones Obituary This article about an American businessperson born in the 1890s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W Alton Jones amp oldid 1105625725, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
