Philip Milledoler Brett

Infobox Person
name = Philip Milledoler Brett. Sr.


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = 1871
birth_place = Newark, New Jersey
death_date = 2 July, 1960
death_place = Manhattan
occupation = President of Rutgers University
spouse = Elizabeth M. Weld
relatives = Francis Rombouts, ancestor
Philip Milledoler, 2nd-greatgrandfather
children = Philip Milledoler Brett, Jr.
Margaret Brett Tenney

Philip Milledoler Brett, Sr. (1871 – 2 July, 1960) was the thirteenth President of Rutgers University serving in an acting capacity from 1930 to 1931.

Biography

He was born in Newark, New Jersey and was the great-great-grandson of Philip Milledoler. While attending Rutgers, he was the captain of the football team that played Princeton University in 1892 in which he was apocryphally credited with saying: "I'd die to win this game." He graduated with a baccalaureate degree from Rutgers College in 1892, and then received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the New York Law School and a degree from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary.

He married and had two children: Philip Milledoler Brett, Jr. and Margaret Brett Tenney. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Elizabeth M. Weld Engaged to Marry. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20810F73A5D167A93C6A8178DD85F418385F9 |quote=Bryn Mawr Graduate Will Be Wed to Philip M. Brett, Jr. Both of Noted Ancestry. She made debut in 1933. Fiance, an Alumnus of Rutgers, Is Kin of Francis Rombouts, New York City Mayor in 1679. |work=New York Times |date=June 14, 1935 |accessdate=2008-07-25 ]

He received an honorary degree from Rutgers University in 1916. At the time of his selection as acting President, Brett was made a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Nevius, Brett and Kellogg in 1898.

During the Great Depression, the University was in disagreement with the newly-established State Board of Regents, and morale was low among the faculty. After eighteen months, morale was restored and despite the requests of faculty for him to accept a full appointment as president, Brett declined. He continued his service as a Trustee of the University for over fifty years.

He retired from law in 1948, and died on July 2, 1960 at his home in Manhattan. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Philip Brett, Lawyer, 89, Dies. Acting Head of Rutgers, 1930-1932. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50811F7395A1A7A93C1A9178CD85F448685F9 |quote=Dr. Philip Milledoler Brett, a lawyer and former acting president of Rutgers University, died yesterday in his home, 901 Lexington Avenue, at the age of 89. |work=New York Times |date=July 3, 1960 |accessdate=2008-07-25 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/university_archives/brett.shtml Rutgers biography]
* [http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740675,00.html Time magazine; November 10, 1930]