John Schiller Wold (August 31, 1916 – February 19, 2017) was an American business executive,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

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 ...

veteran, and Republican politician from

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. He served a single term in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1969 to 1971.Shaffer, William R. ''Party and Ideology in the United States Congress.'' University Press of America, 1980. 258. He was the first professional

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

to have served in Congress.

Early life

John Wold was born on August 31, 1916, in

East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. His father Peter Irving Wold was the chairman of the department of physics at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. His father and five aunts had grown up in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

and earned their degrees at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Wold graduated from Union College in

in 1938 and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1939 with degrees in geology.''The Historical Encyclopedia of Wyoming, Volume 1.'' Wyoming Historical Institute, 1970. 253. During

, he served as a consulting physicist and gunnery officer for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Career

In 1949, he moved to Wyoming to work for an oil company and founded his own company, Wold Oil Properties, a year later. Wold founded Wold Oil Properties, Inc. in 1950 in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

Early political career

He entered politics in 1956, winning a seat to the Wyoming House of Representatives. He served one term from 1957 to 1959 and was the state's Republican chairman from 1960 to 1964. In 1964, he ran for the U.S. Senate against freshman incumbent Democrat Gale McGee, who won by a 54% to 46% margin.

Congress

In 1968, he narrowly defeated on-again, off-again Congressman

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

in the Republican primary before winning a decisive general election victory. Two years later, he gave up his House seat to run against incumbent Sen. Gale McGee again.He lost the race by 56% to 44% and returned to the private sector, but remained active as a Republican political donor.

Philanthropy

In 2002, Wold made a $20 million donation to his alma mater, Union College. The donation was at the time the biggest single contribution in the university's history. The American Heritage Center at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

named Wold as the "Wyoming Citizen of the Century" in the minerals, gas, and oil category in 1999. He also contributed $2 million to Cornell University. Wold and his eponymous foundation contributed $7.5 million to the

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...

's Casey Eye Institute in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The donation was dedicated to a new center with the mission of fighting the onset of adult blindness brought on by

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

, a disease from which Wold had suffered for the last 20 years of his life.

Death and legacy

John Wold died on February 19, 2017, in Casper at the age of 100. Wold Oil Company is now operated by his son, Peter. Another son, Jack, is chief executive officer of an energy company in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

References

External links

John Wold ’38 celebrates 100th birthday, donates $5M in memory of wife, Jane

Casper Businessman and Philanthropist John Wold Passes Away

"Union receives $20 million gift from John and Jane Wold." 21 November 2002.

Political Contributions OpenSecrets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wold, John S. 1916 births 2017 deaths Republican Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives Politicians from Casper, Wyoming Politicians from East Orange, New Jersey State political party chairs of Wyoming Taft School alumni Union College (New York) alumni American men centenarians United States Navy personnel of World War II Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming United States Navy officers Military personnel from Essex County, New Jersey 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Wyoming Legislature