Spencer Truman Olin (August 20, 1900 – April 14, 1995) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was an executive of the Olin Corporation, founded in 1892 by his father, Franklin W. Olin, eventually serving as first vice president of Olin Industries, though he reduced his involvement with the company after its 1954 merger with Mathieson. He was raised in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

. In 1921 he graduated from

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 ...

, where he had studied mechanical engineering, and where he had joined Kappa Sigma fraternity like his father. Olin was very active in the Republican Party throughout much of his adult life. He was an important fundraiser for

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

and served as the party's national finance chairman from 1958 to 1960 and treasurer of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from 1960 to 1962. Outside of his professional and political life, he won a pro-am golf tournament with

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

at The Greenbrier in 1954, beginning a 40-year friendship. The win helped launch Palmer's career. Later, when Olin donated $5 million to build a public golf course in Alton, Palmer agreed to design it. He was a significant donor to the Washington University School of Medicine, whose first residence hall is named after him, its construction anchored by a $500,000 gift, and also home to the Ann Whitney Olin Women's Building, named after his wife. At least seven professorships, fellowships, and scholarships and the university were funded through the Spencer T. & Ann W. Olin Foundation, which was established in 1958. The foundation also funded a variety of environmental groups, health and medical education and services, education, and arts groups in the St. Louis area and around the United States until it ceased operations in 2004. Olin also gave generously to Cornell, his alma mater, where the research chemistry lab is named after him, as well as the annual Olin Lecture. Washington University School of Medicine was also a leading beneficiary. Both universities received $30 million dollars in $1.5M annual installments starting in 1986. Spencer Olin died at his home in Jupiter Island,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in 1995 at age 94.

References

1900 births 1995 deaths Cornell University alumni American manufacturing businesspeople Philanthropists from Illinois People from Alton, Illinois Illinois Republicans Florida Republicans 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists Washington University School of Medicine people {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub