Frederic B. Pratt

Frederic Bayley Pratt (22 February 1865 - 3 May 1945) was the president of Brooklyn's Pratt Institute for 44 years, from 1893-1937.

Early life

He was born in Brooklyn NY, the son of Standard Oil magnate Charles Pratt and Mary Helen Richardson.

He was brother to George Dupont Pratt, Herbert L. Pratt, John Teele Pratt and Harold I. Pratt; and half-brother to Charles Millard Pratt.

He graduated from Amherst College in 1887.

Career

In 1893, he was elected President of the Board of Pratt Institute, taking over from his elder brother, Charles Millard Pratt. He remained in this post for 44 years, when the title passed to his son Charles.

In 1910, he succeeded Caspar Whitney as president of the American Olympic Committee, now the United States Olympic Committee, but only served for five weeks, prior to Col Robert Means Thompson.

Personal life

On 17 October, 1889, he married Caroline Ames Ladd (3 September 1861, Portland OR - 12 June 1946, Glen Cove), the daughter of William Ladd and Caroline Elliott.

They had three children:
* Charles Pratt (1892- ), President of the Board of Pratt Institute from 1937-1953
* Mary Caroline Pratt (1895-1980) who married Christian Herter, Governor of Massachusetts (1953-1956), and Secretary of State (1959-1961).
* Helen Ladd Pratt (1899- )

Pratt died in 1945 at his family home in Glen Cove, Long Island, aged 80, of a heart ailment.

Legacy

The family estate in Glen Cove, Long Island, "Poplar Hill", is now owned by Glengariff Nursing Home since 1971. It was designed by William and Jeffery Platt, sons of Charles A. Platt.

His family home at 229 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn was given to the Pratt Institute; originally known as the Frederick B Pratt House, it is now known as the Caroline Ladd Pratt House. It was completed in 1898, and designed by architects Babb, Cook and Willard in a neo-Georgian style.