Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr. (October 1, 1874 – May 27, 1948) was a millionaire whose fortune allowed him to pursue theatricals, self-published writing, athletics, and Christianity on a full-time basis. He was the man upon whom the book ''My Philadelphia Father'' and the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

and film '' The Happiest Millionaire'' were based. He trained men in

hand-to-hand Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

combat in both World War I and World War II, was a fellow of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

and founded a movement called "Athletic Christianity" that eventually attracted 300,000 members around the world. A 1955 ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' article called him "boxing's greatest amateur" as well as a "major factor in the re-establishment of boxing as a legal and, at that time, estimable sport."

Early life

He was born on October 1, 1874, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, to Edward Biddle II and Emily Drexel. He was a grandson of banker

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel & Co. of Philadelphia, he founde ...

, and a great-grandson of banker Nicholas Biddle. Biddle was a graduate of Germany's

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

.''Philadelphia Inquirer'', Friday Morning, 28 May 1948

Career

An officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

, Biddle was an expert in close-quarters fighting and the author of ''Do or Die: A Supplementary Manual on Individual Combat'', a book on combat methods, including knives and empty-hand skills, training both the

in two world wars and special agents of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

. He can be seen training Marines in the RKO short documentary ''

Soldiers of the Sea ''Soldiers of the Sea'' is a 1939 RKO-Pathe News two-reeler short subject narrative featuring the U.S. Marine Corps. It was produced by Frederic Ullman Jr. and supervised by Frank Donovan. Through narration and film footage, the film shows and ...

''. He was considered not just an expert in fighting, but also a pioneer of United States Marine Corps training in the bayonet and hand-to-hand combat. He based his style on fencing, though this approach was sometimes criticized as being unrealistic for military combat. Having joined the Marines in 1917 at the age of 41, he also convinced his superiors to include boxing in Marine Corps recruit training. In 1919, he was promoted to the rank of major, and became a lieutenant colonel in 1934. In

Lansdowne, Pennsylvania Lansdowne is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, located southwest of the Center City Philadelphia. It was named for the Marquess of Lansdowne. As of the 2010 census the borough had a population of 10,620. Lansdowne grew quickly in t ...

, right outside of Philadelphia, Biddle opened a military training facility, where he trained 4,000 men. His training included long hours of

calisthenics Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...

and gymnastics, and taught skills such as machete, saber, dagger, and bayonet combat, as well as hand grenade use, boxing, wrestling,

savate Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

and jiujitsu. He also served two years in the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. N ...

. A keen boxer, Biddle sparred with Jack Johnson and taught boxing to

Gene Tunney James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 192 ...

. He even hosted "boxing teas" in his home, where other boxers would spar a couple of rounds with him and then join the family for dinner. A February 1909 match with

Philadelphia Jack O'Brien Joseph Francis Hagan (better known as Philadelphia Jack O'Brien) (January 17, 1878 – November 12, 1942) was the world light heavyweight boxing champion in 1905 when he defeated Bob Fitzsimmons for the universal world title. Rather than defend ...

was attended by society leaders including women in elegant

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), tea (above the ankles), to full-length. Such gowns are typically worn with eveni ...

s. He served as a judge in the fight between

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

and

Jess Willard Jess Myron Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. Willard was known for size rat ...

on 4 July 1919. On February 5, 1920, Biddle, as chairman of the Army Navy and Civilian Board of Boxing Control of New York, became a member the International Boxing Union. During World War II, Biddle returned to active duty with the Marine Corps with the rank of colonel and taught hand-to-hand combat to recruits.

Writings

Biddle also worked in and on periodicals. He spent time as a sports reporter for the ''Public Ledger'', and jokingly referred to himself as "the poorest and richest reporter in Philadelphia". He also revived the ''Philadelphia Sunday Graphic'' for a short interval, before it was forced to fold, and founded a short-lived "society weekly"–type publication, ''The People''. After organizing the also short-lived Drexel Biddle Publishing House, he acted as its head for two years. Books written by Biddle include: * ''A dual rôle: and other stories''. The Warwick Book Publishing Company. 1894. * ''The Madeira Islands''. Philadelphia: Drexel, Biddle & Bradley Publishing Company. 1896. * ''Shantytown Sketches''. Philadelphia: Drexel, Biddle & Bradley Publishing Company. 1897. * ''The Froggy Fairy Book'' (1896) and ''The Second Froggy Fairy Book'' (1900) Drexel, Biddle & Bradley publishing company * ''The Flowers of Life''. Philadelphia: Drexel, Biddle & Bradley Publishing Company. 1897. * ''Word for Word and Letter for Letter; a biographical romance''. Gay & Bird. 1898. * ''Do or Die: A Supplementary Manual on Individual Combat''. U.S. Marine Corps. 1937. (reprinted 1944 with new material, reprinted 1975)

Personal life

In 1895, he married Cordelia Rundell Bradley. Together, they had: * Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. (1897–1961), who married Mary Duke (1887–1960). They were the parents of

Mary Duke Biddle Mary Lillian Duke Biddle (November 16, 1887 – June 14, 1960) was an American philanthropist. Early life She was born as Mary Lillian Duke on November 16, 1887, to Benjamin Newton Duke in Durham, North Carolina. She attended Durham's Trinit ...

(1920–2012) and Nicholas Benjamin Duke Biddle * Cordelia Drexel Biddle (1898–1984), who married firstly Angier Buchanan Duke (1884–1923), the son of

Benjamin Newton Duke Benjamin Newton Duke (April 25, 1855 – January 8, 1929) was an American tobacco, textile and energy industrialist and philanthropist. He served as vice-president at American Tobacco Company, being also founder of Duke Energy. Life and career He ...

. They were the parents of Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995) and Anthony Drexel Duke (1918–2014). Her second marriage was to then architect Thomas Markoe Robertson in 1924. * Livingston Ludlow Biddle (1899–1981), who married Kate Raboteau Page (b. 1903), daughter of

Robert N. Page Robert Newton Page (October 26, 1859 – October 3, 1933) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from North Carolina. Born in Cary, North Carolina, Page attended the Cary High School and Bingham Military School in Meb ...

. They were the parents of Livingston Ludlow Biddle III. Kate obtained a divorce in Reno in 1937, citing cruelty. Biddle married Suzanne Hutchinson Burke (1909-2000) whose mother was Mary Forbes Fay, the daughter of Alfred Forbes Fay (1843-1881). Suzanne donated two paintings by Jane Stuart of her mother and great uncle Sigourney Webster Fay (1836-1908) to the Boston Athenaeum in 1983. Monsignor Cyril Sigourney Webster Fay (1875-1919) was her uncle. He died May 27, 1948, from a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

and uremic poisoning and is interred at the

Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a ...

in Philadelphia.

Legacy

His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, worked with Kyle Crichton (father of Robert Crichton) to write a novel based on her family in 1955. In 1956, it was made into a play starring

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

. In 1967 a musical film based on the story, '' The Happiest Millionaire'', was the last musical film to have personal involvement from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. Biddle was played by

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

in the film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. 1874 births 1948 deaths American philanthropists Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery Drexel family Members of the Philadelphia Club Military personnel from Philadelphia United States Marine Corps officers Heidelberg University alumni American people of English descent American people of Austrian descent United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I People associated with physical culture American expatriates in Germany American boxing trainers American boxing referees