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Peter Arrell Browne Widener
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Peter Arrell Browne Widener
Peter Arrell Browne Widener (November 13, 1834 – November 6, 1915) was an American businessman, art collector, and patriarch of the wealthy Widener family. He began his career as a butcher, ran a successful chain of meat stores, and won a lucrative contract to supply mutton to Union army troops during the American Civil War. He partnered with William Lukens Elkins and William H. Kemble to found the Philadelphia Traction Company and established electric trolley systems in several major cities in the United States.
He was one of the founding organizers of American Tobacco Company, International Mercantile Marine Company, and U.S. Steel, and held significant investments in railroads, oil, and natural gas. He assembled a vast art collection valued between $15 and $50 million that he displayed at his Lynnewood Hall estate. Widener is on the American Heritage list of the forty richest Americans in history.
Widener was born on November 13, 1834, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Johannes Widener and Sarah Fulmer. He was named after Peter Arrell Browne, a lawyer in Philadelphia. He attended Central High School in Philadelphia and excelled in mathematics.
He began his career as a butcher and established a successful business with a chain of meat stores. During the American Civil War, Widener won a contract to supply mutton to all Union army troops within 10 miles of Philadelphia. The city was a major transportation hub for troop deployment and the location of many of the largest Union military hospitals. Widener partnered with William Lukens Elkins and invested his $50,000 profit into horse-drawn city streetcar lines.
In 1883, he, Elkins, and William H. Kemble founded the Philadelphia Traction Company to build electric trolley lines. They consolidated all the trolley lines in Philadelphia and through a series of leases, the company eventually became a part of the Philadelphia Transportation Company. They expanded to New York and partnered with Thomas Fortune Ryan and William Collins Whitney to build electric trolley lines. They partnered with Charles Yerkes and secured the electric trolley lines on the North side of Chicago. They went on to build electric trolley lines in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Widener-Elkins-Kemble traction group built more miles of electric trolley lines than any other syndicate at the time.
Widener was a founding organizer of American Tobacco Company, International Mercantile Marine Company, and U.S. Steel. He held significant investments in Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Reading Company, Standard Oil, and United Gas Improvement Company. He is considered to have been among the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.
He grew to prominence in Philadelphia politics. He served on the Philadelphia Board of Education from 1867 to 1870, as the Philadelphia City Treasurer from 1870 to 1877, and as the Philadelphia City Park Commissioner in 1890. His appointment as City Treasurer came from the local boss of the infamous Matthew Quay political machine.
In 1887, Widener built an ornate mansion, designed by Willis G. Hale, in Philadelphia, at the northwest corner of Broad Street and Girard Avenue. He began to amass his art collection at the mansion on Broad Street but it soon became overcrowded with his vast collection. He vacated it 13 years later and donated it as a memorial for his late wife to the Free Library of Philadelphia, as the H. Josephine Widener Memorial Library. The building caught fire in 1980 and was demolished.
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Peter Arrell Browne Widener
Peter Arrell Browne Widener (November 13, 1834 – November 6, 1915) was an American businessman, art collector, and patriarch of the wealthy Widener family. He began his career as a butcher, ran a successful chain of meat stores, and won a lucrative contract to supply mutton to Union army troops during the American Civil War. He partnered with William Lukens Elkins and William H. Kemble to found the Philadelphia Traction Company and established electric trolley systems in several major cities in the United States.
He was one of the founding organizers of American Tobacco Company, International Mercantile Marine Company, and U.S. Steel, and held significant investments in railroads, oil, and natural gas. He assembled a vast art collection valued between $15 and $50 million that he displayed at his Lynnewood Hall estate. Widener is on the American Heritage list of the forty richest Americans in history.
Widener was born on November 13, 1834, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Johannes Widener and Sarah Fulmer. He was named after Peter Arrell Browne, a lawyer in Philadelphia. He attended Central High School in Philadelphia and excelled in mathematics.
He began his career as a butcher and established a successful business with a chain of meat stores. During the American Civil War, Widener won a contract to supply mutton to all Union army troops within 10 miles of Philadelphia. The city was a major transportation hub for troop deployment and the location of many of the largest Union military hospitals. Widener partnered with William Lukens Elkins and invested his $50,000 profit into horse-drawn city streetcar lines.
In 1883, he, Elkins, and William H. Kemble founded the Philadelphia Traction Company to build electric trolley lines. They consolidated all the trolley lines in Philadelphia and through a series of leases, the company eventually became a part of the Philadelphia Transportation Company. They expanded to New York and partnered with Thomas Fortune Ryan and William Collins Whitney to build electric trolley lines. They partnered with Charles Yerkes and secured the electric trolley lines on the North side of Chicago. They went on to build electric trolley lines in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Widener-Elkins-Kemble traction group built more miles of electric trolley lines than any other syndicate at the time.
Widener was a founding organizer of American Tobacco Company, International Mercantile Marine Company, and U.S. Steel. He held significant investments in Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Reading Company, Standard Oil, and United Gas Improvement Company. He is considered to have been among the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.
He grew to prominence in Philadelphia politics. He served on the Philadelphia Board of Education from 1867 to 1870, as the Philadelphia City Treasurer from 1870 to 1877, and as the Philadelphia City Park Commissioner in 1890. His appointment as City Treasurer came from the local boss of the infamous Matthew Quay political machine.
In 1887, Widener built an ornate mansion, designed by Willis G. Hale, in Philadelphia, at the northwest corner of Broad Street and Girard Avenue. He began to amass his art collection at the mansion on Broad Street but it soon became overcrowded with his vast collection. He vacated it 13 years later and donated it as a memorial for his late wife to the Free Library of Philadelphia, as the H. Josephine Widener Memorial Library. The building caught fire in 1980 and was demolished.
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