Howard B. Keck
| Howard B. Keck | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Howard Brighton Keck September 20, 1913 Trinidad, California, U.S. |
| Died |
December 14, 1996 (aged 83) Santa Monica, California |
| Occupation | Businessman: Oil exploration/production Racehorse owner/breeder Philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth A. Keck |
Howard Brighton Keck (September 20, 1913 – December 14, 1996) was an American businessman, a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and the owner of an auto racing team that twice won the Indianapolis 500.
Born in Trinidad, California, he was the second of the six children of William Myron Keck, the founder of the Superior Oil Company of California.
On his father's death in 1963, Howard Keck took the helm of the oil company. He made substantial investments in exploration for new resources and in the company's production systems that made it the largest independent oil producing company in North America. In March 1984, Superior Oil was sold to Mobil Corporation (now part of ExxonMobil) for $5.7 billion.
He was also head of the W. M. Keck Foundation set up by his father. The philanthropic foundation has provided substantial funding for numerous science and technology institutions and projects including the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum at the University of Nevada, Reno, Howard Keck Hall (Chemistry Building) at Rice University, and the Keck Distinguished Young Scholar Awards program. In 1985, Keck gave $70 million to the California Institute of Technology to fund the design and construction of the Keck I Telescope on the summit of Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano. Under Howard Keck, the Foundation grew from $250 million to more than $1.2 billion and as one of the leading grant-giving organizations in the United States has given away in excess of a billion dollars.
...
Wikipedia