Frank Seaver

Frank Roger Seaver (April 12, 1883[1]–30 October 1964) was an American lawyer, Naval officer, oil executive, and philanthropist.[2][3]

Frank Seaver and his wife, Blanche, in the 1950s

He grew up in Claremont, California, graduating from Pomona College in 1905,[2] where he managed the football team and served as the first president of the Associated Students of Pomona College.[4] He then attended Harvard Law School[5] and practiced law in Los Angeles, and helped draft the first charter of Los Angeles County.[2] He served in the Navy during World War I and helped establish the California Naval Militia.[2]

He met Edward L. Doheny on a weekend yachting trip in 1919, who hired him to work for his oil enterprise.[2] He became General Counsel and Managing General Agent for Doheny's operations in Mexico from 1921 to 1927, and convinced the Mexican government to hire him for an ambitious road paving project.[2]

He later founded the Hydril Company, a producer of oil drilling equipment.[2] He and his wife, Blanche, were a major contributor to Pomona,[6] where they served as trustees, and where the Seaver Science Center is named after him and several other buildings are named after his family.[7][8] They were also the principal benefactors of the Malibu campus of Pepperdine University, which named its College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences after him,[9][10] and donated portions of their $10.1 million estate (equivalent to $83.3 million in 2019) to other institutions.[11][12]

References
  1. "Seaver (Blanche Ebert and Frank R.) Papers". www.oac.cdlib.org. Online Archive of California. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. Marshall, Colonel Norman S. "Californians and the Military: Frank Roger Seaver: A Hero's Life". California Center for Military History. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  3. Who's who in the Pacific Southwest: a compilation of authentic biographical sketches of citizens of Southern California and Arizona. Los Angeles, California: Times-Mirror Print. & Binding House. 1913. p. 332.
  4. "1904". Pomona College Timeline. Pomona College. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  5. Seaver, Randall J. (22 March 2017). "Seavers in the News - Frank R. Seaver Leaves a Legacy". Genea-Musings. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. Blackstock, Joe (18 July 2011). "Missed flight helped college take off". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  7. "Campus Facilities - Pomona College Catalog". Pomona College. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  8. Lyon, E. Wilson (1977). The History of Pomona College, 1887-1969. The Castle Press.
  9. Oliver, Myrna (13 April 1994). "Blanche E. Seaver, Major Donor to Colleges, Dies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  10. "Blanche E. Seaver, Philanthropist, 102". The New York Times. Associated Press. 14 April 1994. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  11. Dolezal, Cormac (5 December 2018). "A look through the history of Seaver". Los Angeles Loyolan. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  12. "School to Benefit from Estate". Pasadena Star-News. 14 December 1964. p. 24.
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