Sid Williams Richardson (April 25, 1891 – September 30, 1959) was an American businessman 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 ...
known for his association with the city of
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
.
Life and career
A native of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
in east Texas, Richardson attended
Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
and
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University
Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...
from 1910 to 1912.
With borrowed money, he and a business partner,
Clint Murchison Sr.
Clinton Williams Murchison Sr. (April 11, 1895 – June 20, 1969) was a noted Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner and founder Clint M ...
, amassed $1 million in the oil business in 1919–1920, but then watched their fortunes wane with the oil market, until business again boomed in 1933.
Richardson was president of Sid Richardson Gasoline Co. in
Kermit, Sid Richardson Carbon Company in
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
, and Sid W. Richardson, Inc., in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, and was a partner in Fort Worth-based Richardson and Bass Oil Producers.
He began ranching in the 1930s and developed a love of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
art, particularly that of
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...
and
Charles M. Russell. He built one of the largest private collections of these artists' work, which opened to the public as the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art in 1982. After a yearlong renovation, it reopened as the
Sid Richardson Museum in 2006.
Richardson had already given numerous scholarships and gifts to local organizations when friend
Amon G. Carter persuaded him to establish the
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
The Sid W. Richardson Foundation is a philanthropic organization founded in 1947 by Sid W. Richardson (1891–1959), a Texan who earned his fortune in the oil industry. The foundation was primarily funded after his death. As of December 2020 it ha ...
in 1947. The foundation awards grants to Texas organizations in the areas of education, health, human services, and cultural institutions; grants in the latter two categories are restricted to groups in the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area. The foundation's Fort Worth headquarters shares a building with the Sid Richardson Museum.
Upon his death aged 68 in 1959, Richardson, a bachelor, bequeathed a large portion of his estate to his foundation, and left several million dollars to his
nephew
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...
-partner,
Perry Richardson Bass
Perry Richardson Bass (November 11, 1914 – June 1, 2006) was an American heir, investor, philanthropist and sailor.
Early life
Perry Richardson Bass was born on November 11, 1914, in Wichita Falls, Texas to oil operator Dr. E. Perry Bass and A ...
. Richardson named
John B. Connally
John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917June 15, 1993) was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas from 1963 to 1969 and as the 61st United States secretary of the treasury from 1971 to 1972. He began his career as a Hi ...
, the future Texas
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, as co-executor of the estate, a designation which provided Connally with steady income for years thereafter.
He also bought and donated land for the Sid Richardson Boy Scout Camp.
Institutions named after Richardson
* Sid Richardson Auditorium of the
Amon Carter Museum
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (also known as the Carter) is located in Fort Worth, Texas, in the city's cultural district. The museum's permanent collection features paintings, photography, sculpture, and works on paper by leading arti ...
in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
*
Sid Richardson Museum, in Fort Worth housing Sid Richardson's extensive collection of Western Art featuring works by Remington and Russell
*
Sid Richardson College
Rice University contains eleven residential colleges which function as the primary housing, dining, and social organizations for undergraduate students. Each student is randomly affiliated with a residential college upon matriculation and becom ...
, one of eleven residential colleges at
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres.
Rice University comp ...
,
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
* Sid W. Richardson Physical Sciences Building at
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...
, Fort Worth
*
Sid Richardson Scout Ranch, a
Boy Scout
A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
camp on
Lake Bridgeport
Lake Bridgeport is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 339 in 2020.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.5 square mile (1.2 km2), all land.
Climate
The ...
, near
Decatur
* Sid Richardson Hall, an academic building at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
,
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
, which houses the
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (or LBJ School of Public Affairs) is a graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970. The school offers training in public policy analysis and administration in govern ...
,
Eugene C. Barker
Eugene Campbell Barker (November 1, 1874 – October 22, 1956) was an American historian at the University of Texas, the managing director of the Texas State Historical Association, and the editor of the ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly''. He ...
Texas History Collection, the UT Center for American History, and the Benson Latin American Collection.
* Sid Richardson Building,
Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
,
Waco
Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...
, which houses the Paul L. Foster Success Center and the Department of Mathematics.
* Sid Richardson Recreation Center,
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.[Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a World War II American tank
S ...](_blank)
* Sid Richardson Building,
Texas Wesleyan University
Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is ...
,
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
* Sid W. Richardson Visual Arts Center,
Fort Worth Country Day School
Fort Worth Country Day (FWCD) is a JK-12 private, independent, coeducational, nondenominational college-preparatory school located on approximately 100 acres in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Associ ...
, completed in 2009.
* Sid Richardson Science Center,
Hardin-Simmons University,
Abilene
* Sid Richardson Hall, A former residential hall at
Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University is a Private university, private Baptist university in Brownwood, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Noah T. Byers and John David Robnett founded Howard Payne College in 18 ...
Brownwood
* Sid Richardson Gallery, Texas Southmost College
* Sid Richardson Gymnasium,
Fort Worth Country Day School
Fort Worth Country Day (FWCD) is a JK-12 private, independent, coeducational, nondenominational college-preparatory school located on approximately 100 acres in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Associ ...
* Sid Richardson Tower, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth in the Fort Worth Hospital District
* Sid W. Richardson Communications Center,
Trinity University,
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
References
External links
Sid Richardson MuseumSid W. Richardson Foundation*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Sid W.
American businesspeople in the oil industry
Texas Oil Boom people
1891 births
1959 deaths
American billionaires
Ranchers from Texas
Baylor University alumni
People from Athens, Texas
Businesspeople from Fort Worth, Texas
20th-century American philanthropists