Everything about Walter C Teagle totally explained
Walter Clark Teagle (
May 1878 –
January 9,
1962), was responsible for leading
Standard Oil to the forefront of the oil industry and significantly expanding the company's presence in the
petrochemical field.
Biography
Born in Ohio into a wealthy oil family, Teagle was the grandson of Maurice B. Clark, one of
John D. Rockefeller's former partners in
Standard Oil. Teagle's father, John Teagle, headed Scofield, Shurmer and Teagle,
Standard Oil's competitor in Cleveland. Teagle entered
Cornell University with the class of
1900, but graduated early in
1899 with a B.S. in chemistry. As a student, Teagle was said to have "managed everything," serving as manager for two publications, the football team, class politics, and as chair of the committees for class promenades and cotillions. He was a member of the
Quill and Dagger society and
Alpha Delta Phi.
After graduation, Teagle remained involved in
Cornell University, serving as a trustee from 1924 to 1954 and donating funds for the Teagle Hall athletic building. In 1923, Cornell announced that Teagle was their highest salaried alumnus. He served as vice president of the Cornell Club of New York and on a variety of committees.
Teagle married Edith Murray on
October 3,
1903. In 1962, he died at the age of 83 in
Connecticut after a long illness.
Oil career
In 1901,
Standard Oil bought out the Teagle family refinery, and placed Teagle in charge. Two years later, he joined the export committee of
Standard Oil of New Jersey, traveling around the world for the next seven and a half years. He became a director of
Standard Oil in 1910, and a vice president shortly thereafter. During this time, he acquired operations in
Venezuela and
Iran. At the age of 39, Teagle became the youngest president of
Standard Oil of New Jersey, then known as Esso, for S. O. of NJ, and since 1972, known as
Exxon. He served as president (1917-1937) and chairman (1937-1942) of the company. Under his leadership, Standard Oil became the world's largest oil producer, increasing market share from 2% to 11.5%. He helped pioneer worker representation on refinery councils and the eight-hour workday.
Honors
Teagle was selected as one of 20th Century Great American Business Leaders by
Harvard Business School and was inducted into the
Automotive Hall of Fame in
1974 for his work at
Standard Oil in expanding research and development of petroleum-based products, leading to fuel refinements and diverse petrochemical uses such as in cosmetics and food preservatives. He appears on the cover of the
December 9,
1929 issue of
Time Magazine. He was also selected as one of the
100 Most Notable Cornellians and inducted into the
Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Other positions
Teagle was very active in labor, business, and trade organizations and councils. He served as head of President Hoover's job sharing movement and on the
National Labor Board during its brief tenure from 1933 to 1934, helping handle labor disputes. He was appointed to President Roosevelt's National Defense Mediation Board and
National War Labor Board. He was also on the national Business Advisory Council and a director of the
National Foreign Trade Council and
Federal Reserve Bank.
In 1944, he established The Teagle Foundation "to advance the well-being and general good of mankind throughout the world." At Teagle's request, the foundation's directors always include an individual appointed by
Cornell University and an individual appointed by
ExxonMobil.
Controversies
Teagle has been accused of contributing to
Nazi Germany during
World War II through his involvement with German chemical company
I.G. Farben. As a director of
I.G. Farben's American subsidiary, he allied Standard Oil with the German company and conducted research jointly. Standard Oil supplied information to
I.G. Farben on how to manufacture
tetraethyl lead and
synthetic rubber, both critical resources to the war effort. Because Teagle sold patent rights for
synthetic rubber,
Standard Oil delayed American industrial readiness by not producing rubber without German permission. Faced with a
Justice Department investigation, Teagle convinced President Roosevelt that a suit would hurt the war effort, instead choosing to pay an out-of-court fine. The result was a fall in public favor for
Standard Oil and the resignation of Teagle in 1942.
Further Information
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