Anna Thompson Dodge
{{Short description|Art collector, philanthropist, and automotive heiress}}
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File:Anna Thomson Dodge circa 1910-1920.jpg
Anna Thompson Dodge (7 August 1866 – 2 June 1970) was a Scottish-American socialite and philanthropist, one of the richest women in the world at the time of her death.
Life and family
She was born on 7 August 1866 in Dundee, Scotland, as Anna Thompson. Her obituary in The New York Times lists her age as 103. Her parents were William Thompson and Elizabeth Stevens. In 1896, she married Horace Elgin Dodge Sr., of Dodge Brothers Company. The couple had a son, Horace Elgin Dodge Jr., and a daughter, Delphine Dodge.
After her husband died (only 11 months after his brother and Dodge-cofounder John Francis Dodge), she became a substantial owner of the Dodge company. She and John's widow Matilda sold the company in 1926 for US$146 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.146|1926|r=2}} billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}){{Inflation-fn|US}} to Dillon, Read & Co., which was the largest cash transaction in history at the time.
On 8 May 1926, she married actor Hugh Dillman, who had previously been married to Marjorie Rambeau.{{cite news |title=Mrs. H. E. Dodge and Actor Wed. Start On Trip |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/460860222.html?dids=460860222:460860222&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+09,+1926&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=MRS.+H.+E.+DODGE+AND+ACTOR+WED;+START+ON+TRIP&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605015215/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/460860222.html?dids=460860222:460860222&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+09,+1926&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=MRS.+H.+E.+DODGE+AND+ACTOR+WED;+START+ON+TRIP&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 June 2011 |quote=Against a huge bank of orchids and roses Mrs. Horace E. Dodge Sr., widow one of the founders of Dodge Bros., Inc., was married today to Hugh Dillman, son of a tailor of Columbus, OH., former actor and divorced husband of Marjorie Rambeau, actress. |work=Chicago Tribune |date=9 May 1926 |access-date=2010-03-27 }} She divorced Dillman in 1947.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Dillman Divorced; Widow of Dodge Founder |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=63MnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=z04DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3640,4016078&dq=anna-dodge&hl=en |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=23 May 1947 |access-date=2010-06-01}} Her English home was St Leonard's at Clewer, near Windsor, in Berkshire.
She gave the City of Detroit $1,000,000 towards the construction of a fountain in memory of her late husband and son. The Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain was designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1978, and it is located near the center of Philip A. Hart Plaza.{{cite web | url=http://www.detroitriverfront.org/east/hartplaza/landmarks.asp | title=Hart Plaza Landmarks | work=The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy | access-date=10 September 2013}}
She died on 2 June 1970 at her home, Rose Terrace, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, at the age of 103. She had been a wheelchair user for the previous seven years.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Horace Dodge Dies at 103. Among World's Richest Women. Conflicts Over $100-Million Estate Predicted. Widow Survived 2 Children |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F1EF83F5812718DDDAD0894DE405B808BF1D3 |quote=Mrs. Anna Thompson Dodge, widow of Horace E. Dodge, the automotive pioneer, and one of the richest women in the world, died last night at her home, Rose Terrace. She was 100 years old and had used a wheelchair for seven years. |work=The New York Times |date=4 June 1970 |access-date=2007-07-21 }}
References
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External links
- {{Find a Grave|14812762|accessdate=19 September 2010}}
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Category:Scottish women centenarians
Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States