Peter Arrell Brown 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.

Early life 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 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. The building caught fire in 1980 and was demolished.

In 1897, Widener began construction of Lynnewood Hall, designed by Horace Trumbauer, on a 300-acre plot of land in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. The estate was opened with a gala held on December 18, 1899. he founded the Widener Memorial Home for Crippled Children, as a memorial to his wife and first son Harry. In 1941, the home was transferred to the School District of Philadelphia is currently used as a public school, Widener Memorial School. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

After his death, his estate was valued at $31,589,353. By 1945, the accumulated income plus the current value of the real and personal property totaled $98,368,058.

About 1905, he purchased the crucifixion panel from Rogier van der Weyden's Crucifixion Diptych ( 1460) in Paris. The following year he sold it to John G. Johnson, who reunited the two halves and later donated them to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Widener's son Joseph donated more than 2,000 works of art from the collection to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.

Personal life and family He married Hannah Josephine Dunton on August 18, 1858, George Dunton Widener and his son Harry Elkins Widener died during the sinking of the Titanic. His youngest son Joseph Early Widener inherited his father's fortune, managed the family estate, His grandson, George D. Widener Jr., a noted horse racing figure, was also the chairman of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Widener's eldest brother, George (1820–1901), served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council. The two brothers were, at one time, business partners.