George Dupont Pratt
Encyclopedia
George Dupont Pratt (August 16, 1869 – January 20, 1935) was an American conservationist
, philanthropist
, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities.
, New York, the third son of Standard Oil
magnate Charles Pratt
and Mary Helen Richardson.
He was brother to Frederic B. Pratt
, Herbert L. Pratt
, John Teele Pratt
and Harold I. Pratt
; and half-brother to Charles Millard Pratt
.
He graduated from Amherst College
in 1893.
Pratt was a member of the track team, one of Amherst's great teams, who easily won the NEIAA Championship at Worcester, May 28, 1890. In the NEIAA Championship of 1892, he set a new record in the two mile bicycle race.
Pratt was also quarterback for the football team. The 1892 team, which he captained, is considered “the greatest football team of which Amherst can boast”. They played thirteen games, all with other college teams, won 8 and lost 5, scored 314 to opponents 141. On November 18, 1892, Amherst beat Williams on Weston Field at Williamstown, 60-0. Pratt kicked ten goals from almost every angle of the field, most of them against the wind. This record still stands today as the best goal-kicking exhibition of any Amherst player in a major game.
for many years, ending as assistant to the president and superintendent of ferries.
In 1910, he helped organize the Boy Scouts of America
and served as Treasurer.
As an early member of the Camp Fire Club he became interested in conservation and for 25 years served on its committee on conservation. He was Conservation Commissioner of New York from 1915 to 1921.
Pratt was a trustee of Amherst College, the American Museum of Natural History
, the Metropolitan Museum, vice president of the Pratt Institute
, and president of the American Forestry Association
.
n delegation to the United Nations
.
; her sister Gertrude Mary (Sherman) Trowbridge was the grandmother of US Secretary of Commerce Alexander Buel Trowbridge
, who was also an executive in the Rockefeller/Pratt oil business.
They had children:
In January 1926, Pratt married Vera Derbishire Amherst Hale Pratt (November 21, 1889, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada – 1978). She was the granddaughter of Edward Hale. She published "Hale and Allied Family Histories" in 1948.
Pratt died at home in Glen Cove on January 20, 1935.
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, 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...
, Boy Scout sponsor, big-game hunter and collector of ancient antiquities.
Early life
Pratt was born and raised in Clinton Hill, BrooklynClinton 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...
, New York, the third son of 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...
magnate Charles Pratt
Charles 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...
and Mary Helen Richardson.
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....
, Herbert L. Pratt
Herbert L. Pratt
Herbert Lee Pratt was an American businessman and a leading figure in the United States oil industry.- 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....
.
He graduated from 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 1893.
Pratt was a member of the track team, one of Amherst's great teams, who easily won the NEIAA Championship at Worcester, May 28, 1890. In the NEIAA Championship of 1892, he set a new record in the two mile bicycle race.
Pratt was also quarterback for the football team. The 1892 team, which he captained, is considered “the greatest football team of which Amherst can boast”. They played thirteen games, all with other college teams, won 8 and lost 5, scored 314 to opponents 141. On November 18, 1892, Amherst beat Williams on Weston Field at Williamstown, 60-0. Pratt kicked ten goals from almost every angle of the field, most of them against the wind. This record still stands today as the best goal-kicking exhibition of any Amherst player in a major game.
Career
Pratt worked for the Long Island Rail RoadLong Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
for many years, ending as assistant to the president and superintendent of ferries.
In 1910, he helped organize the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and served as Treasurer.
As an early member of the Camp Fire Club he became interested in conservation and for 25 years served on its committee on conservation. He was Conservation Commissioner of New York from 1915 to 1921.
Pratt was a trustee of Amherst College, the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, the Metropolitan Museum, vice president of 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,...
, and president of the American Forestry Association
American Forestry Association
The American Forestry Association was formed in Chicago, Illinois in September 1875 by John Aston Warder. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.. The organization acts as a clearinghouse for environmental organizations working to preserve world tree growth. The "National Register of...
.
Heritage
His house "Killenworth" at Glen Cove was one of the larger Pratt family mansions, built in 1913 in a Tudor style, with 39 panelled rooms, thirteen bathrooms, twelve fireplaces, five cellars, a swimming pool, and flower beds tended by 50 gardeners. It was designed by Trowbridge and Ackerman. By the 1950s it was purchased by the then Soviet Union to serve as the retreat for the RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n delegation to the United Nations
United Nations
The 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...
.
Personal life
In 1897, Pratt married Helen Deming Sherman Pratt (October 21, 1869-), the great granddaughter of American founding father Roger ShermanRoger Sherman
Roger Sherman was an early American lawyer and politician, as well as a founding father. He served as the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and was also a representative and senator in the new republic...
; her sister Gertrude Mary (Sherman) Trowbridge was the grandmother of US Secretary of Commerce Alexander Buel Trowbridge
Alexander Buel Trowbridge
Alexander Buel Trowbridge III was the United States Secretary of Commerce from June 14, 1967 to March 1, 1968 in the administration of Lyndon Johnson....
, who was also an executive in the Rockefeller/Pratt oil business.
They had children:
- George Dupont Pratt Jr (May 1, 1898-)
- Sherman Pratt (March 22, 1900 – September 14, 1964), an explorer, and joint founder of Marineland of FloridaMarineland of Florida-External links:**...
, the world's first oceanariumOceanariumAn oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Florida, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks.- Marine mammal parks :...
. - Eliot Deming Pratt (25 August 1903 – 19 Aug 1969) was Chairman of Trustees of Goddard CollegeGoddard CollegeGoddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
, Vermont for 15 years, where the Eliot Pratt Center and the Eliot D Pratt Library are named in his honor. - Constance Pratt (1906-)
- Dorothy Deming Pratt (November 1, 1910-)
In January 1926, Pratt married Vera Derbishire Amherst Hale Pratt (November 21, 1889, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada – 1978). She was the granddaughter of Edward Hale. She published "Hale and Allied Family Histories" in 1948.
Pratt died at home in Glen Cove on January 20, 1935.