Sneha Girap (Editor)

John F Dryden

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Preceded by
  
William Joyce Sewell

Party
  
Republican Party

Political party
  
Republican

Succeeded by
  
Frank O. Briggs

Name
  
John Dryden

Children
  
Forrest F. Dryden

Education
  
Yale University


John F. Dryden wwwinsurancehalloffameorgphotossmjohnedrydenjpg

Full Name
  
John Fairfield Dryden

Born
  
August 7, 1839 Temple, Maine, U.S. (
1839-08-07
)

Died
  
November 24, 1911, Newark, New Jersey, United States

Books
  
The American type of Isthmian canal

John Fairfield Dryden (August 7, 1839 – November 24, 1911) was the founder of the Prudential Insurance Company and a United States Senator from New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".

Contents

John F. Dryden FileJohn F Dryden in the New York Tribune on January 26 1902jpg

Life and career

John F. Dryden uploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons448Dryden

Born in Temple, Maine, Dryden moved in 1846 with his parents to Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy and later attended Yale College. In 1875, he founded the Widows and Orphans Friendly Society (now Prudential Financial) in Newark, New Jersey, becoming its first secretary and in 1881 its president, serving in the latter position until 1911. Dryden was one of the founders of the Fidelity Trust Company and was involved in the establishment and management of various street railways, banks, and other financial enterprises in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William J. Sewell, serving from January 29, 1902, to March 4, 1907. Dryden was a candidate for reelection, but withdrew because of a deadlock in the state legislature, which at the time elected U.S. Senators. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Relations with Canada (57th Congress) and a member of the Committee on Enrolled Bills (58th and 59th Congresses).

Dryden died in Newark, New Jersey on November 24, 1911 from pneumonia following removal of gall stones two weeks earlier. His estate was valued at $50,000,000. He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark.

Legacy

In addition to his home in Bernardsville, New Jersey, Dryden was in the process of constructing a home in High Point, New Jersey that was to be one of the largest homes in the country.

His daughter, Susan married Anthony R. Kuser, who would use part of the Prudential fortune to donate 10,500 acres (42 km2) for a state park at New Jersey's highest point. John Dryden Kuser, Dryden's grandson, was a state senator and Brooke Astor's first husband.

References

John F. Dryden Wikipedia