Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr. (July 29, 1908 – August 29, 1930) was the heir to the Remington-Rockefeller fortune. He lived at

Giralda Farms Giralda Farms was the estate of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge in Madison, New Jersey. She would hold dog shows at the property. After her death it was converted into a corporate park containing the headquarters for Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagn ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...

. He died in a car accident in France.

Life

Dodge was born in

to Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller and

Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr. (February 28, 1881 – December 25, 1963) was the chairman of the board of Remington Arms Company and a member of the family associated with the Phelps Dodge Corporation. He was the president or director of several c ...

He was a grandson of

William A. Rockefeller Jr. William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also part owner of the Anaconda ...

, co-founder of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

; great-grandson of

Remington Arms Company Remington Arms Company, LLC was an American firearms manufacturer, manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, now broken into two companies, each bearing the Remington name. The firearms manufacturer is ''Remington Arms''. The ammunition business ...

founder Marcellus Hartley; and grandnephew of Standard Oil's other co-founder,

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

. Dodge was often referred to as "Hartley." Dodge was instantly killed in an automobile accident on August 29, 1930, when his car struck a tree on the Bayonne-Bordeaux road in Mogesca,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The accident occurred shortly after his graduation from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in June 1930, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Two passing motorists, Henri Dupin, and Paul Theau, pulled Dodge's body, and the still living Ralph Applegate, from the burning car. Dodge's carotid artery had been severed, and the car's engine was pushed against the back seat. Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr. went to the site of the accident, looked at the car, and talked to Dupin and Theau. Dodge's mother, Geraldine, had sent him there as a diversion from his hobby of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

, which she felt was too dangerous. Dodge was buried at

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch C ...

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...

Legacy

To honor Dodge's memory, his parents funded the Dodge Gateway on Princeton's campus in 1933, and contributed to the construction of the Marcellus Hartley Dodge Physical Fitness Center at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Dodge's mother also gave

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building that was dedicated on Memorial Day, Thursday, May 30, 1935 to house its

police department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

. The building now houses Madison's Borough Hall. His mother also donated a memorial to him at the

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it now is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. The initial portion of the ...

, which was founded with extensive efforts by his father.

External list

References

1908 births 1930 deaths Dodge family Rockefeller family People from Madison, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Road incident deaths in France Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery {{US-activist-stub