Clarence Dillon was a leading financier for almost half a century. Born in San Antonio, Texas, September 27, 1882, to parents of Polish and French descent, he attended Worcester Academy and Harvard University. He resided in Far Hills, New Jersey, and died April 14, 1979 at 96 years old.
Mr. Dillon began his career at the Chicago office of the Wm. A Read & Company in 1912, became a partner in 1916 and shortly thereafter became head of the company. In 1920, the company was renamed Dillon, Read & Company. A master financier during a volatile period in world history, he served as trustee or director of many companies, including the American Foreign Securities Corporation, formed in 1915 to help finance the French government’s purchases in the United States of military equipment for World War I. As the result of his skill and leadership, Mr. Dillon was decorated by the French, Italian, Belgian, and Polish governments.
The Bedminster Township Library was formed in 1957 as a small library for children. In 1969, it became the Bedminster Township Public Library, to meet the cultural and educational needs of children and adults. In 1977, the community undertook a large fundraising effort to purchase the property upon which the library now stands. In 1979, however, despite generous donations, the library was still in debt. Mr. Dillon’s daughter, Dorothy Dillon Eweson, helped to pay off its mortgage through the generosity of the Clarence and Anne Dillon Dunwalke Trust. At the dedication in 1979, The Clarence Dillon Public Library was named in his honor. In 1981, the voters of Bedminster and Far Hills changed the status of the library from an association library to a municipal library, which marked the start of the “joint free library of Bedminster and Far Hills known as the Clarence Dillon Public Library.”
Source: Bedminster Township 250 Years 1749-1999, by Prich Matthews
To learn more about Clarence Dillon:
Wikipedia listing on Clarence Dillon
Clarence Dillon New York Times Obituary
