Fairleigh Stanton Dickinson Jr. (December 9, 1919 – October 12, 1996) was an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

politician who served as a member of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

from 1968 to 1971. Stout, David
"Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr., 76, Who Helped Save the Meadowlands"
''

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 ...

'', October 17, 1996. Accessed October 14, 2007.

Early life and education

He was born in

Rutherford Rutherford may refer to: Places Australia * Rutherford, New South Wales, a suburb of Maitland * Rutherford (Parish), New South Wales, a civil parish of Yungnulgra County Canada * Mount Rutherford, Jasper National Park * Rutherford, Edmonton ...

, the son of

Fairleigh S. Dickinson Colonel Fairleigh Stanton Dickinson Sr. (August 22, 1866 – June 23, 1948) was the co-founder of the Fortune 500 medical technology company Becton Dickinson and the named benefactor of Fairleigh Dickinson University. Biography Born in Core ...

and Grace Smith Dickinson (1887–1973). A 1937 graduate of

Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

, Dickinson was recognized by the school in 1965 with its Outstanding Alumnus Award. Dickinson graduated from

New York Military Academy New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the rural town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitti ...

and from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

. He served as a lieutenant commander in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Dickinson sponsored the 1969 legislation that created the

Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC; formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of ...

Career

Dickinson became a trustee of

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

in 1948 and was named its chairman in 1968, following in the footsteps of his father, Fairleigh S. Dickinson, who was co-founder of

Becton Dickinson Becton, Dickinson and Company, also known as BD, is an American multinational medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems, and reagents. BD also provides consulting and analytics services in certai ...

, a manufacturer of medical products, and of Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dickinson also followed his father in commerce, as president of Becton Dickinson in 1948 and chairman in 1972. He had homes on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes th ...

and in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. As a founding board member of Vineyard Environmental Research, Institute (VERI), Dickinson played an active role in saving three Martha's Vineyard lighthouses (

Gay Head Light Gay Head Light is a historic lighthouse located on Martha's Vineyard westernmost point off of Lighthouse Road in Aquinnah, Massachusetts. History 1796–1838 – Gay Head Light – the first lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard When the first Cong ...

East Chop Light East Chop Light is a historic lighthouse standing on a bluff overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor and Vineyard Sound, located along East Chop Drive in the town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. It is one of five lighthouses located on the island of Mart ...

, and

Edgartown Harbor Light Edgartown Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in Edgartown, Massachusetts, United States, where it marks the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay. It is one of five lighthouses on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The first lighthouse, a ...

) from being torn down in the early 1980s. The Edgartown Harbor Light, which is located near the Dickinsons' Martha's Vineyard home, is highly visible from the Dickinsons' living room and ocean-side deck, and always held a special interest to Dickinson and his family. In 1987 Dickinson became Lighthouse Keeper to the Edgartown Harbor Light. Dickinson was a co-founder of Vineyard Environmental Research, Inst.

He married Betty Harrington (1920-2010) in 1946, and they had one son and two daughters; Ann, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Tracy, of Park Ridge, New Jersey. In 1969, his son, Fairleigh S. Dickinson III, died of a drug overdose in his room at Columbia University, where he was a freshman. Ann's son is the Broadway actor David Turner (b. 1974).

References

1919 births 1996 deaths BD (company) people Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni Republican Party New Jersey state senators New York Military Academy alumni People from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts People from Ridgewood, New Jersey People from Rutherford, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Williams College alumni 20th-century American politicians {{NewJersey-politician-stub