Brooks McCormick

Brooks McCormick (February 23, 1917 - August 15, 2006) was a member of the family that ran International Harvester and a noted philanthropist and equestrian. He was the chief executive officer of the International Harvester Company in the 1970s, and was the final member of the McCormick family to lead the company that they had founded.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago to a distinguished family, McCormick was the great-grandnephew of Cyrus McCormick, whose 1831 invention of the horse-drawn reaper was the building block of International Harvester. His father, Chauncey McCormick, was a cousin of Chicago Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick, and his mother, Marion McCormick, was a member of the Deering family. William Deering had founded the Deering Harvester Company, which merged with the McCormicks' harvester business in 1902 to form the basis for International Harvester. [http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/623138/brooks_mccormick_1917__2006_harvester_exec_devoted_to_conservation/index.html View - redOrbit ] ] Chauncey and Marion McCormick wed in 1914. [ [http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/miamicorp/frtHEAD04042207.htm Special Reports - newsjournalonline.com ] ]

Brooks McCormick attended the Groton School in Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1940 with a degree in English.

Work at International Harvester

McCormick joined International Harvester out of Yale, working for the company from 1940 until retiring in 1980. He was groomed for executive positions his entire career, and he became president and chief operating officer in 1968. He was promoted to be chief executive officer from 1971 until January 1978.

During his tenure, McCormick tried to stem financial losses at International Harvester by selling the company's Wisconsin Steel subsidiary and exiting the money-losing pickup truck manufacturing business. [http://books.google.com/books?id=vv0bQHZGebcC&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=%22Brooks+McCormick%22&source=web&ots=H8ZjjoXiLk&sig=Ad5gzoQD6Mpv9ucYgzud4r9nUDk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result]

McCormick stepped down as the chairman of International Harvester's executive committee on October 31, 1980, ending almost 150 years of his family's active management in the company. He had no interest in nepotism, and saw little reason to be sad about the passing of the McCormicks' role in the company. "There's no room in this world for emotionalism or sentimentality," he told the Chicago Tribune at the time of his retirement.

Equestrian activities

In the 1920s, McCormick's father Chauncey purchased a massive horse farm in what is now unincorporated Warrenville, Illinois. The property eventually was expanded to more than 600 acres and became known as St. James Farm. McCormick took possession of the property after his father's death in September 1954 and significantly expanded it, holding an annual steeplechase event on the property to raise money for charity. McCormick told the Chicago Tribune in September 1990 that his goal behind the steeplechase event was "to revive public interest in a major equestrian sport missing in this area for half a century." [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28879724.html?dids=28879724:28879724&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+9%2C+1990&author=Michael+Kilian&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=27&desc=The+thrill+of+the+chase+Steeplechase%2C+that+is%2C+in+merry+olde+Du+Page The thrill of the chase Steeplechase, that is, in merry olde Du Page ] ]

In 2000, McCormick sold the farm for $43 million to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, with the stipulation that it would take possession of the farm upon McCormick's death. A condition of a bequest related to the sale was the demolition of several structures on the property, including McCormick's own mansion, which had been designed by noted architect Jarvis Hunt. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1368224541.html?dids=1368224541:1368224541&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+19%2C+2007&author=Bob+Goldsborough&pub=Chicago+Tribune&edition=&startpage=4&desc=Preservationists+can%27t+alter+fate+of+historic+home%3B+DuPage+forest+district+is+set+to+raze+house Preservationists can't alter fate of historic home; DuPage forest district is set to raze house ] ]

Philanthropy

A noted philanthropist and art collector, McCormick bequeathed 11 works of art to the Art Institute of Chicago upon his death in 2006, including paintings by Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Winslow Homer, Paul Cezanne, and John Singer Sargent. [ [http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/bequests The Art Institute of Chicago: Exhibitions: ] ] McCormick had been president of the Art Institute's board from 1944 until 1954. [http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:Oan9g3ELWf4J:www.artic.edu/aic/aboutus/press/Zeisler_McCormick_%2520PR.pdf+%22Brooks+McCormick%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=20&gl=us]

McCormick also willed his collection of rare bird books and paintings to the International Crane Foundation, which reaped more than $2.7 million from their sale after his death. [ [http://gazettextra.com/news/2007/oct/28/auction-house-trip-was-experience/ Auction house trip was experience - GazetteXtra ] ]

Family

McCormick's wife, former Illinois state legislator Hope Baldwin McCormick, died in 1993. McCormick had four children, two of whom preceded him in death.

McCormick was described by the Chicago Tribune's Michael Kilian as an "intensely private person who reflexively shuns public attention," in an article that appeared in the Tribune magazine on September 9, 1990.

References