Catherine Terese MacArthur (née Hyland; November 23, 1908 – December 15, 1981) was an American philanthropist. With the estate of her husband, businessman and philanthropist John D. MacArthur, she co-founded the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

, one of the 10 largest philanthropic

foundations Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

in the United States.

Life

Born Catherine Terese Hyland in 1908, MacArthur was one of nine children of Irish immigrants on

Chicago's South Side The South Side is one of the three major sections of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Geographically, it is the largest of the sections of the city, with the other two being the North and West Sides. It radiates and lies south o ...

.About John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
/ref> Her father owned and operated several retail stores, was active in Democratic politics in

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 ...

, and held several state and local governmental positions. In 1938, she married John D. MacArthur. In 1935, MacArthur purchased Bankers Life and Casualty for $2,500 and used mass marketing techniques to sell insurance by mail. Banker's Life was the basis of John's phenomenal success in real estate and insurance. Official Banker's Life press releases verify that Catherine was intimately involved in the business's success. She appears throughout the records under her maiden name, C.T. Hyland, as corporate secretary, director, or both. In 1963, John purchased the Colonnades Hotel in Palm Beach Shores on Singer Island,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Catherine lived with her husband in a modest apartment overlooking the parking lot, while John conducted his business from a corner table in the hotel's coffee shop.Lowery, Fred
"Celebrity Days Remembered As Colonnades Hotel Is Razed"
, ''

South Florida Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, an ...

'', February 17, 1990 When John D. MacArthur died on January 6, 1978, he was worth over $1 billion and reportedly one of the three wealthiest men in the United States.

Death

Catherine MacArthur died on December 15, 1981, in her long-time residence at the Colonnades Beach Hotel in Palm Beach Shores, Florida after a long struggle with cancer.

References

External links

Biography at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur, Catherine T. 1908 births 1981 deaths American businesspeople in insurance American people of Irish descent Philanthropists from Illinois Businesspeople from Chicago People from Palm Beach County, Florida 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists