Joseph Wharton
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Joseph Wharton (March 3, 1826January 11, 1909) was an American
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 ...
and
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 ...
. He was instrumental in the development of the
nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
and
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
metal industries in the United States. He created the first plant in the United States to produce metallic zinc, or
spelter Spelter is a zinc–lead alloy that Patina, ages to resemble bronze, but is Hardness, softer and has a lower melting point. The name can also refer to a copper–zinc alloy (a brass) used for brazing, or to pure zinc. Etymology In his etymolo ...
, and became the largest producer of nickel and
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
in the country. His innovations in malleable nickel and magnetic nickel won him the gold medal at the Paris exposition of 1878. He was the largest shareholder in
Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...
, held multiple investments in railroads, and owned vast amounts of land containing iron, coal, copper and gold ores. He founded the
Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and was one of the founders of
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
.


Early life and education

Wharton was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, on March 3, 1826, the fifth child of ten to William and Deborah Fisher Wharton. He was raised in the
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
religion. Wharton's youth was spent in the family's house near Spruce and 4th streets in Center City Philadelphia and at Bellevue, a country mansion near the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...
. He attended boarding schools in Byberry, Pennsylvania, and
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
, as well as schools in Philadelphia. Between the age of 14 and 16, Wharton was prepared for college by a private
tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
. At age 16, his health became a concern and he moved to East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, to work on the farm of Joseph and Abigail Walton for three years. During the winter months, he returned to Philadelphia and studied in the chemistry laboratory of Martin Hans Boyè and learned French and German languages. Wharton matured to a strong frame, and was just over tall. He was accomplished in sports, including horseback riding, swimming, and rowing. He competed in crew races as a member of the Camilla Boat Club. The University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College both granted him honorary degrees.


Career

When he was 19, Wharton apprenticed with an accountant for two years and became proficient in
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
methods and
bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. T ...
. In 1847, he partnered with his older brother Rodman to start a business manufacturing
white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex Salt (chemistry), salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of ...
. Wharton also partnered with his brother in a
cottonseed oil Cottonseed oil is cooking oil from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly ''Gossypium hirsutum'' and ''Gossypium herbaceum'', that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil. cottonseed, Cotton seed has a similar structure to ...
business for four years but disbanded the venture in 1849. He started a business manufacturing
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
s in 1849 using a
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed machine which formed dry clay into bricks. He left the brick-making business due to the significant competition and cyclical business swings.


Zinc and nickel manufacturing

In 1853, Wharton joined the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company near
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...
. He first managed the mining operation and then the
zinc oxide Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the Chemical formula, formula . It is a white powder which is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, Zinc metabolism, food supplements, rubbe ...
works. Wharton negotiated a new
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
for the works, and in the difficult financial environment of 1857–1858, he took over control of the zinc works, and managed it carefully so that it turned a profit. In 1859, he developed the first production of metallic zinc, or
spelter Spelter is a zinc–lead alloy that Patina, ages to resemble bronze, but is Hardness, softer and has a lower melting point. The name can also refer to a copper–zinc alloy (a brass) used for brazing, or to pure zinc. Etymology In his etymolo ...
, in the United States. He brought in experienced workers from the
Vieille Montagne Vieille Montagne () was a zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine), a town in Belgium between Liège and Aachen. The mine's name is French for "old mountain" or "old mine", and this is also reflected in its German name, (earlier, ). The mine was once ...
works in Belgium, built sixteen furnaces and by 1863 had produced nine million pounds of spelter. Wharton was asked by James Pollock, the
Director of the United States Mint The director of the United States Mint is the chief officer of the United States Mint. It is a Appointments Clause, presidential appointment that requires a Senate confirmation. The incumbent is Kristie McNally, who became acting director of the ...
, to secure an American source of nickel to provide raw material for the minting of one-cent coins. In 1863, he sold his interest in zinc and started the manufacture of nickel at
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
. He took a controlling interest in the Gap Mining Company, a nickel mine and refining works in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In 1866, Congress passed a law authorizing the creation of a 3-cent coin consisting of 75% copper and 25% nickel, and the
nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
, as it became known, was created. He partnered with Theodor Fleitmann for several years to improve the manufacturing process. The Camden plant was located on the east side of 10th Street, adjacent to Cooper Creek, and had several large brick buildings and smokestacks. Wharton renamed the Camden plant the American Nickel Works, and his office there became his center of operations. In July 1868, the plant burned down but was quickly rebuilt with brick and stone replacing the original wood structure. Wharton had success due to his production of the first in the world malleable nickel. He also created nickel
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
s, and received a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1878 for his inventions. For the next 25 years, Wharton's operations were the largest nickel manufacturer in the United States and produced 17% of the world's supply. The surface deposits at the Gap mine were eventually depleted, and Wharton began to purchase nickel ore from mines in the
Sudbury Basin The Sudbury Basin (), also known as Sudbury Structure or the Sudbury Nickel Irruptive, is a major geology, geological structure in Ontario, Canada. It is among the oldest- and largest-known List of impact structures on Earth, impact structures ...
. After the American Civil War, demand for coinage declined and the amount of nickel purchased from Wharton by the United States Mint decreased. Wharton became frustrated with the Mint since they had requested that he enter the nickel industry. He did not sell any nickel to the mint in 1870 and 1871 and temporarily closed the plant in 1870. He threatened to completely close the only nickel manufacturer in the United States. By the 1870s, Wharton had made several million dollars in profit from his nickel business. He made huge profits from 1873 to 1876 by supplying
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
with nickel to mint their coins. In 1877, the price of nickel plummeted due to new reserves discovered in
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
and the formation of the French conglomerate Société Le Nickel. By 1900, the nickel industry outlook was fading and Wharton and a group of other American and Canadian nickel enterprises formed the International Nickel Company in 1902. In 1905, Wharton's American Nickel Works were merged with the Orford Copper Company which ended Wharton's involvement in nickel manufacturing.


Water supply efforts

The Wharton family's Bellevue Mansion estate in
North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...
, along with several others nearby that had been annexed into the city, were threatened with condemnation by the city for the construction of a new reservoir to hold potable water. Wharton started purchasing land in
South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...
in the 1870s, eventually acquiring in the Pinelands, which contained an
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
replenished by several rivers and lakes. The water from the Pinelands was relatively pure and he planned to export the water to Philadelphia. Wharton suggested that a city-controlled company could develop the necessary water mains and
pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...
, funded by public purchase of
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
s and bonds. Opposition to the plan emerged in Philadelphia and in New Jersey, and eventually, a law was passed in New Jersey preventing the export of water.


Mining and railroads

Wharton traveled widely and became involved in many industrial enterprises such as mines, factories and
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s. He started several enterprises on
South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...
property, including a
menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker, and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the order Clupeiformes. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...
fish factory that produced fertilizer, a modern forestry planting operation, and
cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...
and
sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
farms. Wharton purchased land in Port Oram, New Jersey, to expand his iron operations. He added furnaces to the site with the capacity to produce over 1,000 tons of iron per day. He owned over 5,000 acres of ore-containing land. He had extensive ownership of coal-containing lands, with 7,500 acres in
Indiana County, Pennsylvania Indiana County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the west central part of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,246. Its county seat is Indiana. Indiana County comprises the Indiana, PA Mi ...
, and 24,000 acres in West Virginia and New York. He owned iron and
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
mines in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, and gold mines in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
. Wharton became involved in railroads including the
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad in the Northeastern United States built predominantly to haul anthracite, anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to major consumer markets in Philadelphia, New York City, and ...
, San Antonio Railroad, Arkansas Pass Railroad, Oregon Pacific Railroad, and Hibernia Mine Railroad.


Bethlehem Steel

In the 1870s Wharton began to invest in Bethlehem Iron Company which produced
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
and
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
for railroads. He became the largest shareholder with a position on the board of managers, and eventually purchased a controlling share of the company. He was the largest single producer of pig iron in the United States. In 1885, Wharton successfully bid a contract with the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
for forged steel
armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
, and in 1886 he visited England ( Whitworth Co.) and France ( Schneider Co.) to research the designs for a plant to
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
of higher quality. With these designs, Bethlehem Iron built the first plant to forge high-strength steel in the United States. The plant fabricated armor plates and guns for
warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...
s.


Science

Wharton was a scientist interested in the natural world, and wrote
scientific papers Scientific literature encompasses a vast body of academic papers that spans various disciplines within the Natural science, natural and social sciences. It primarily consists of academic papers that present original empirical research an ...
on a variety of topics including
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
and metallurgy, presenting several to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
. He was elected to the Society in 1869. In the winter of 1883–1884 there was a period of several months when sunsets were extraordinarily red worldwide. Some imagined that the red color was from dust dispersed in the
atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
worldwide by the volcano
Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group (Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. Tw ...
, which erupted. Others imagined that the reddish hue might come from iron and steel furnaces because they were known to create a reddish-brown dust. Wharton was curious, and one morning when a light snow was falling, collected some from a field near his house, melted and evaporated it, studying the remaining particles under a microscope, which he had on hand for metallurgy. The particles looked like "irregular, flattish, blobby" glass particles. He visited a ship from
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
that arrived in port in Philadelphia, a course that took a few hundred miles from Krakatoa. It had been slowed by a huge amount of
pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...
floating in the ocean, evidently spewed out by Krakatoa. Wharton obtained some pumice from one of the ship's crew, compared it with the dust he had collected, and found almost identical particles. In 1893, Wharton presented a paper about the dust to the 150th anniversary meeting of the American Philosophical Society. Wharton also wrote a paper about the use of the
Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...
on the color of light emitted by
binary star A binary star or binary star system is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved as separate stars us ...
s to determine their distance from
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, and made the analogy to a train whistle which changes tone as it passes. Wharton served as president of the American Iron and Steel Association and as a member of the
Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was a British association originally organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The ...
. He led the electoral tickets for the Republican Party nomination of
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
for president.


Philanthropy


Swarthmore College

In 1864, Wharton along with his mother Deborah Fisher Wharton and a group of like-minded Hicksite Quakers from Philadelphia,
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, and New York City were the founders of
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
, a Hicksite Quaker college outside Philadelphia. Swarthmore filled an important need of a college where both men and women could receive a high-quality education in the tradition of Friends not dominated by religion. Wharton donated $150,000 for the construction of Wharton Hall, $40,000 for the endowment of the Chair of Economics and Political Science, $10,000 for the construction of a library, $15,000 for the construction of a Friends Meeting House, and $10,000 for the construction of a science hall. His mother Deborah served on the Swarthmore Board of directors, Board of Managers from 1862 to 1870, and Joseph served on the board from 1870 to 1909, and from 1883 to 1907 as its president. He was often on campus and gave many commencement addresses.


Wharton School

Wharton wrote extensively on economic matters, including protective tariffs and business cycles. In the last half of the 19th century, business education typically consisted mainly of training on the job or an apprenticeship. Wharton conceived of a school that would teach how to develop and run a business, and to anticipate and deal with the cycles of economic activity. In 1881, Wharton donated $100,000 to the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
to found a "Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, School of Finance and Economy" to help students succeed in business. He insisted that the Wharton School faculty educate on economic protectionism, similar to the lobbying he had done for American businesses in Washington. However, the school soon began to broaden its outlook to a global one and to teach other disciplines such as political science, politics and the developing social sciences, and introduced the teaching of business management and finance as these disciplines gradually coalesced. The Wharton School was the first to include such a practical focus on business, finance, and management. During its first century through the present day, it was and is widely known as one of the most prominent business school, schools of business in the world. In 2023, the Wharton School fell off of the ''Financial Times'' 2023 MBA rankings for the first time since the ranking's inception.


Final years and death

Wharton was active to near the end of his life both physically and in business affairs. Until he was 72, he skated with guests on the pond at his Ontalauna estate near Philadelphia and would often go on walks with his family after dinner. He practiced total abstinence from tobacco and restricted use of alcohol. When he was nearly 80, he visited his Nevada Silver mining, silver mine by canoeing down the Colorado River and descending into the mine in a bucket, and when he was 81, he traveled to Germany with his grandson, Joseph Wharton Lippincott, to visit Kaiser Wilhelm II and had dinner on the kaiser's yacht. He read widely in literature and was an accomplished poet. Many of his poems were inspired by trips abroad. He wrote "Stewardson's Yarn" after an 1873 visit to Europe, "The Royal Palm" and "The 'Sweet Reasonableness' of a Yankee Philistine in Cuba" after a visit to Cuba to inspect mines there, and "Mexico" after an 1889 visit to Mexico. A domestic journey to
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
to see his gold mines there resulted in "The Buttes of the Canyon". In 1907, Wharton experienced a stroke while travelling in London. He survived the stroke and was able to travel home but never fully recovered his health. In 1908 he established the Wharton Steel Company with assets valued over $10 million and transferred all of his coke, iron, limestone, pig iron and railroad interests into this entity. His health was worsened by a fall and he died at his Ontalauna estate on January 11, 1909, at age 82. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.


Personal life

Wharton married Anna Corbit Lovering, on June 15, 1854. After living with Anna's family for several months, the couple moved into a near 12th and Walnut Street (Philadelphia), Walnut streets in Philadelphia. They had a daughter named Joanna. Wharton lived apart from the family while managing the zinc works in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...
, and Anna cared for their child at their home in Philadelphia. In 1856, Wharton rented the house in Philadelphia and moved with his family to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. After Wharton sold his interest in zinc, they returned to Philadelphia. He purchased a 63-acre estate in the Ogontz, Philadelphia, Branchtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, and built a Second Empire style mansion he named "Ontalauna". He was a member of the Union League of Philadelphia. In the 1880s, Wharton purchased land in Jamestown, Rhode Island, and built an estate he named "Horsehead–Marbella, Marabella" for usage as a summer residence. Wharton is the grandfather of the publisher Joseph Wharton Lippincott, great-grandfather to the publisher Joseph Wharton Lippincott Jr. and the great-great-great-grandfather of former UCLA Bruins football, UCLA and Miami Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen.


Legacy

In 1908, Wharton granted a plot of forested land to the city of Philadelphia for the creation of a park. In 1954, the Wharton family sold his vast Pinelands properties in
South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...
to the state of New Jersey, which now form the core of Wharton State Forest. In 1981, a Joseph Wharton 18-cent commemorative postal stamp designed by Rudolph de Harak, was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the
Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
. In 1997, Wharton has inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame. The borough of Wharton, New Jersey, originally known as Port Oram, was renamed in his honor.


Publications

*
On Two Peculiar Products in the Nickel Manufacture
', American Journal of Science, s2-49(147), 365–368, 1870 *
Memorandum Concerning Small Money and Nickel Alloy Coinage: With Illustrations and Descriptions of Existing Nickel Alloy Coins.
', Collins, 1877 * Wharton, Joseph. Article on zinc manufacture in ''American Journal of Science'', Sept 1871, p 168. *
Dust from the Krakatoa Eruption of 1883
', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge, American Philosophical Society, 32 (193), 343–345 * Wharton, Joseph. Letter to the editor on plans for water supply, ''Evening Bulletin'', June 17, 1891. *
The Creed in the Discipline
', Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott, 1892 *
Speculations Upon a Possible Method of Determining the Distance of Certain Variably Colored Stars
', ''American Journal of Science and Arts: Series II'', Vol 40:190–192, 1865 *
Mexico
', Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1902


References

Citations Sources * * * * *


External links


Joseph Wharton Personal Financial Records at The University of Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center
by Hexamer and Son, Inc. 419 Walnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1890 *Th
Joseph Wharton Family Papers
held a
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Joseph 1826 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American farmers American company founders American businesspeople in the coal industry American business theorists American chief executives American manufacturing businesspeople American metallurgists American mining businesspeople American philanthropists American railway entrepreneurs American steel industry businesspeople Bethlehem Steel people Brick manufacturers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia Members of the American Philosophical Society Pennsylvania Republicans Quakers from Pennsylvania Swarthmore College people Wharton family Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania people Defunct mining companies of the United States