Monroe Jackson Rathbone II (March 1, 1900 – August 2, 1976) was an American businessman who was the chairman,

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, and CEO of

Standard Oil of New Jersey ExxonMobil, an American multinational oil and gas corporation presently based out of Texas, has had one of the longest histories of any company in its industry. A direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the company traces its roo ...

(now the Exxon Corporation).

Early life and education

Rathbone was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ida Virginia (née Welch) and Monroe Jackson Rathbone.https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VF7T-N8W Rathbone received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

in 1921.

Business career

Rathbone joined

in 1921 as a design engineer at the Baton Rouge refinery of Standard Oil of Louisiana. In 1923, he was promoted to the operations division of Louisiana Standard as an experimental engineer. In 1924, he was named assistant to the general superintendent. In 1926, he became general superintendent, then assistant general manager and vice president. In 1944, he was appointed president and director of Standard 's new Esso Division. In 1949, he was named to the board of directors of the parent Standard Oil Company. In 1953, Rathbone was named president of Standard Oil of New Jersey, and in 1959 he was named CEO. In 1962, he was elected chairman of the board of directors of Standard Oil of New Jersey. He retired in 1965. He served on the boards of directors for many other major corporations, including

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, American Telephone and Telegraph, and Prudential Insurance, and on such private groups as the Deafness Research Foundation, the National Fund for Medical Education, and the Council for Financial Aid to Education. He was active in the Lehigh Alumni Association, serving as board chairman and president; was board chairman of the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the ...

and a director of

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

. During World War II, he served on President Roosevelt's Business Council.

Personal life

Rathbone was married in 1922 to Eleanor Groves, and had two children - Virginia and Dr. Monroe Jackson Rathbone III.

Jackson Rathbone Monroe Jackson Rathbone V (born December 14, 1984) is an American actor, singer, and musician best known for his role as Jasper Hale in ''The Twilight Saga'' film series. From 2008 to 2012, he was the vocalist and occasional guitarist, bassist, ...

is Rathbone's great-grandson. A resident of Summit, New Jersey, Rathbone maintained a country home near

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

.Carmical, J.H
"JERSEY STANDARD FILLS TOP POSTS; Two Executives Promoted -- Rathbone Is Retiring"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', February 16, 1965. Accessed March 15, 2016. "Mr. Rathbone said he would continue to live in Summit, N. J., but also expected to spend more of his time at his country home near Baton Rouge." Rathbone died at the age of 76 on August 2, 1976, at Baton Rouge General Hospital.Saxon, Wolfgang
"Monroe J. Rathbone Dies at 76; Former Exxon Chief Executive"
''

'', August 3, 1976. Accessed March 15, 2016. "Monroe Jackson Rathbone, retired board chairman and chief executive officer of the Exxon Corporation and one of the most important figures in the history of the oil industry, died yesterday at General Hospital in Baton Rouge, La. He was 76 years old."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, Monroe Jackson II 1900 births 1976 deaths American chairpersons of corporations American chemical engineers American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Directors of ExxonMobil ExxonMobil people Bethlehem Steel people Lehigh University alumni People from Parkersburg, West Virginia People from Summit, New Jersey