Cleveland Hoadley Dodge

Henry Morgenthau Sr. and Samuel Train Dutton and Cleveland Hoadley Dodge in 1916 Cleveland Hoadley Dodge (January 26, 1860June 24, 1926) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was active in New York City politics and was president of Phelps Dodge mining and served as "adviser and financier" to Woodrow Wilson. He was known for his charity work in World War I.

Biography He was born on January 26, 1860, the son of Sarah Hoadley and William E. Dodge Jr., who was a principal partner in the firm of Phelps Dodge & Co.

Cleveland was a vice-president from 1909 to 1924 and chairman of the board from 1924 until 1926.

One of Cleveland's two sons, Cleveland Earl Dodge, followed him into the business. His other son, Bayard Dodge, became president of the American University of Beirut (formerly, Syrian Protestant College) in 1923. The Dodge family had long been supporters of the college, and of its founder, Rev. Daniel Bliss. In 1914 Bayard married Mary Bliss, the granddaughter of the founder.

Near East Connections Cleveland was also connected with the Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1909 to 1926.

In 1915, the American ambassador in Turkey, Henry Morgenthau Sr., called for urgent humanitarian aid for the Armenian people who were being threatened with annihilation. Cleveland Dodge was asked to help and he met with a group of affluent people who pledged funding. Out of that came the formation of the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (ACASR) where Cleveland would serve as Treasurer, absorb the administrative expenses as well as offer his boardroom for Executive Committee gatherings.

The Woodrow Wilson Connection Government facilities were placed at their disposal and the following year a national fund raising campaign was organised by President Wilson.

Cleveland was a loyal friend to Woodrow Wilson throughout his life. With other influential friends Cleveland managed to get Wilson elected as the President of Princeton in 1902. Cleveland became a trustee of the University in 1904 and supported Wilson's radical reforms. However, by 1907 Wilson was meeting serious resistance to his changes. Within a few years he accepted the Democratic nomination for the governorship of New Jersey.

Wilson next ran for president of the United States in 1912 and was elected. Cleveland was one of the largest financial backers for Wilson's presidential campaign and enlisted contributions from many of his former classmates and sympathetic Princeton trustees. He continued to provide financial support for Wilson throughout his years in office and appears to have asked for only one favor. That was in 1917, when war with Germany seemed inevitable, he asked Wilson to do all in his power to keep the United States from declaring war on Turkey and Bulgaria.

Philanthropy In addition to his steadfast work with the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (which became the Near East Relief Committee (1919)), Cleveland's philanthropic interests included the YMCA, Princeton, American Red Cross, New York Museum of Natural History, the New York Public Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Zoo, Botanical Garden and several colleges in the Near East. During the Spanish–American War he was in charge of the American Red Cross distribution center in New York.

He established the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation in 1917 with an initial funding of five million dollars, wanting to give money away that came to him during the war years. As well as those large sums, he gave many smaller gifts to individuals with immediate needs.

Railroad Ties and Transfer Towards the end of his life he and his second cousin and fellow director, Arthur Curtiss James, were instrumental in bringing about the transfer of the railroad system owned by Dodge Phelps, the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad. It went to the Southern Pacific Company for $64 million.

Death Cleveland H. Dodge died on June 24, 1926, in Riverdale, New York, of pneumonia.

The "Christian Student" Cleveland made a gift to Princeton of a bronze sculpture of his dead brother, W. Earl Dodge, called The Christian Student, which had been commissioned by Cleveland from Daniel Chester French, and showed his brother in sports clothing with books under his arms and academic gown over his shoulder. It became the target of student pranks and these became so bad that the authorities eventually had to remove the sculpture to storage.

Family tree

Legacy Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation

Gallery