Joseph Peter Grace Sr. (June 9, 1872 – July 15, 1950) was an American businessman,

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player, and owner of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horses in the sport of

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

racing. He was the president of W.R. Grace and Company from 1907-1946.

Early life and career

Grace was born on June 9, 1872, in

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

. He was the son of businessman and two time

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the Cove ...

. Grace graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. A

player, in 1911 Grace purchased a estate in the Lakeville district of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

from Almeric H. Paget, son-in-law of

William Collins Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent member of the Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland from ...

. He would acquire a stable of polo ponies as well as thoroughbreds used in point to point

events. A devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, Joseph Grace was a member of the international organization the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

, a Catholic organization that aids the sick and poor through the establishment of hospitals and clinics around the world. He also served as president of Grace Institute, a charity created in 1897 by his father and his uncle, Michael Grace, that provided tuition-free education and training in business and administrative skills to economically disadvantaged women.

Career

On the death of his father, William R. Grace in 1904, Edward Eyre, the

company secretary A Company secretary is a senior position in the corporate governance of organizations, playing a crucial role in ensuring adherence to statutory and regulatory requirements. This position is integral to the efficient functioning of corporations, ...

and a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, was appointed president of

W. R. Grace and Company Grace is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes polyethylene and polypropylene catalysts and related products ...

. In 1907, Eyre was made company chairman and Joseph Grace became president. In 1929, Joseph Grace took over as chairman when Edward Eyre retired and Joseph's friend from his college days, D. Stewart Iglehart, was appointed president. The W. R. Grace company's business centered on operations in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and surrounding

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n countries. To enhance that, in 1914 Grace established

Grace National Bank Grace National Bank was a bank headquartered in New York, New York. It was established as local private bank by W. R. Grace and Company in 1914 to concentrate on business done in South America. On June 19, 1924, the Grace National Bank became a nat ...

, a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

private bank that concentrated on business done in South America. The extent of the W.R. Grace company's trade was such that its founders had formed

Grace Shipping Company Grace Shipping (The Grace Line) was a key part of the parent company, W. R. Grace and Company, W. R. Grace, for a large part of the corporation's history. The Grace Line began service in 1882, with regular steamship service beginning in 1893. In ...

. In 1929, Joseph Grace concluded a partnership with

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

to establish

Pan American-Grace Airways Pan American-Grace Airways, also known as Panagra, and dubbed "The World's Friendliest Airline" was an airline formed as a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping Company. On September 13, 1928, a small single-engine F ...

, the first air carrier to serve the West Coast of South America. In 1945, Grace suffered a debilitating

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and in 1946 both he and D. Stewart Iglehart retired. His son, Joseph Peter Grace Jr., took over management of the company.

Personal life

In 1908, he married Janet MacDonald, the daughter of

Charles B. Macdonald Charles Blair Macdonald (November 14, 1855 – April 21, 1939) was a major figure in early American golf. He built the first 18-hole course in the United States, was a driving force in the founding of the United States Golf Association, won the ...

, a major figure in early American

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

who built the first 18-hole course in the United States. Together, they were the parents of five children: * Nora Grace (1910–1935) * Joseph Peter Grace Jr. (1913–1995), who married Margaret Fennelly in 1941 and became the longest serving CEO of a public company as CEO of W.R. Grace. * Michael Paul Grace II (1917-1995) * Janet Maureen Grace (1925-2006) * Charles MacDonald Grace (1926-2013) His wife died on December 31, 1937, at age fifty-three. Joseph Grace died of a

at his home in

on July 15, 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace Sr., Joseph P. 1872 births 1950 deaths American polo players American racehorse owners and breeders Columbia University alumni Knights of Malta Businesspeople from New York (state) New York (state) Republicans People from Great Neck, New York People from Aiken, South Carolina Catholics from South Carolina