Raymond White Lapham (December 16, 1903 – July 11, 1976) was an American businessman and philanthropist who served as president of the

Boston Garden-Arena Corporation The Boston Garden-Arena Corporation was an American corporation that oversaw the operations of the Boston Garden from 1934 to 1973. It was formed when the Boston Arena Corporation gained control of the Boston Garden from the Madison Square Garden ...

Early life

Lapham was born on December 16, 1903, to Henry G. and Rebecca Lapham. He studied geology at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. In 1927 he, along with 14 of his classmates and professor

Richard Foster Flint Richard Foster Flint (March 1, 1902 - June 6, 1976) was an American geologist. Biography He was born in Chicago on March 1, 1902. Flint graduated from the University of Chicago and earned his Ph.D. in geology at the University of California gr ...

, was seriously injured when a platform the group was standing on collapsed and fell to the bottom of a quarry. He recovered and graduated from Yale in 1928. The elder Lapham was a director of the

Texas Oil Company Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company un ...

and the younger Lapham worked for time at the company's refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. While there he met Madge Jarratt of

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The couple had one son and two daughters.

Business career

In 1940, Lapham was elected president of the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation, succeeding his deceased father. He was succeeded by general manager

Walter A. Brown Walter Augustine Brown (February 10, 1905 – September 7, 1964) was the founder and original owner of the Boston Celtics, as well as an important figure in the development of ice hockey in the United States. Life He was born in Hopkinton, Ma ...

the following year. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Lapham served as a captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. In 1944, Lapham, Brown, Charles I. Keene, and Harry G. Collier purchased

Benson's Wild Animal Farm Benson's Wild Animal Farm was a private zoo and amusement park in Hudson, New Hampshire, United States. It opened to the public in 1926 and closed in 1987, after having been renamed New England Playworld for its final year. The state of New Hamp ...

in Hudson, New Hampshire, from the estate of John T. Benson. Lapham continued to own the farm until his death. In addition to his ventures with Walter A. Brown, Lapham was also involved in a number of enterprises with Brown's brother, George V. Brown, Jr.

Death

Lapham died on July 11, 1976, at his home on Prouts Neck in

Scarborough, Maine Scarborough is a town in Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. The town is a coastal resort area. Located about south of Portland, Scarborough is part of the Portland– South Portland– Biddeford, Maine ...

, following a long illness. He was 73 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapham, Raymond 1903 births 1976 deaths Boston Garden Military personnel from Massachusetts Businesspeople from Boston People from Hudson, New Hampshire People from Scarborough, Maine United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Yale University alumni