Arthur Ivar Appleton (October 14, 1915 – January 15, 2008) was a businessman from the Northbrook area of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He lived part of the year in Chicago and split time between his Indian Creek estate near

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and his thoroughbred farm, Bridlewood Farm in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

. He was one of the leading thoroughbred horse breeders and owners in the United States. He made his fortune in the family's electrical supply business, Appleton Electric Company, founded by his father, Albert Ivar Appleton, in Chicago in 1903.

Early life and education

Appleton was born in Chicago on October 14, 1915, the son of the founder of the Appleton Electric Company, Swedish

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

Albert I. Appleton, and Lillian W. Appleton. Appleton loved art and antiques from an early age. His mother was a concert pianist, singer and collector of fine art, who instilled in Arthur and his sister, Edith-Marie, her love of beautiful things. Appleton entered

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

at age 16, receiving his degree from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration and Finance in 1936. Appleton served in the Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, achieving the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. Appleton married actress

Martha O'Driscoll Martha O'Driscoll (March 5, 1922 – November 3, 1998) was an American film actress from 1937 until 1947. She retired in 1947 after marrying her second husband, Arthur I. Appleton, mogger of Appleton Electric Company in Chicago. Early life O' ...

in 1947,. She gave up her acting career to raise a family and they had four children, James, John, Linda and Williams. The Appletons lived in the Northbrook area, and they had another home in Indian Creek Village, Florida.

Career

Appleton joined the family business, which manufactured electrical products used in chemical and steel plants as well as indoor and outdoor lighting equipment. In 1947, Appleton became president and chairman of Appleton Electric Company. He contributed many inventions to the electronics field, acquiring more than 160 patents. Upon his retirement in 1982, the business was sold to

Emerson Electric Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The Fortune 500 company delivers a range of engineering services, manufactures industrial automation equipment, climate control systems, and p ...

. He was also involved in

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and the oil business in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. He appeared on the

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

list one time, in 1984, with a net worth of $200 million.

Horse breeding and racing

Appleton was interested in

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

in Chicago and later in Florida; he served on the board of

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for ...

in Hallandale Beach. In the 1970s, he started accumulating the land that became Bridlewood Farm in

. The farm bred over 90 stakes winners. Notable horses he bred include Southern Image and David Junior. The farm also trained 2004

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

winner

Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes. Background Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was ...

. Bridlewood was sold to

media mogul A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...

John C. Malone in 2013.

Appleton Museum of Art

Appleton, his wife, and his sister started the

Appleton Museum of Art The Appleton Museum of Art is an art museum located in Ocala, Florida. It is affiliated with and governed by the College of Central Florida and has been since 2004. The Appleton Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 24,000 wo ...

in 1987. It was Ocala's first art museum. https://www.appletonmuseum.org/

Death

Appleton died at home on January 15, 2008, at the age of 92.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, Arthur I. American people of Swedish descent Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Florida People from Ocala, Florida American racehorse owners and breeders 1915 births 2008 deaths Tuck School of Business alumni 20th-century American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Military personnel from Illinois