Capitalist, art collector, philanthropist, Joseph was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New York's Belmont Park and builder of Miami's Hialeah Park racetrack in Florida. Joseph Early Widener was one of three sons of Peter Arrell Brown Widener [1834-1915] and his wife Hannah Josephine Dunton [c.1836-1896]. The son of a bricklayer, Peter went to public schools in Philadelphia, began his career as a butcher's assistant, and eventually rose to power and fortune in the trolley-car and financial industries. Of the three sons of Peter A.B. Widener, only Joseph survived his father. The eldest son, Henry K. Widener, died of typhoid at age 15, and the middle son, George Dunton Widener, died aboard the Titanic in 1912 along with his own son Harry Elkins Widener. Joseph Widener was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and at Harvard. The business of his life was the administration of the Widener estate. He was also active in racing circles, at one point being the largest individual stockholder of Belmont Park and owning stables at his Pennsylvania estate, in Chantilly, France, and in Kentucky. Joseph Widener was married to Ella Pancoast [d. 1929] of Philadelphia and had two children, Peter A.B. Widener, II and Josephine (Fifi). The Widener estate, Lynnewood Hall, is located in Elkins Park outside Philadelphia and housed an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative art and porcelains, which was ultimately donated to the National Gallery in 1942. In poor health for several years, Widener died at his Lynnewood Hall estate in 1943 and was interred in the Widener family mausoleum.
Capitalist, art collector, philanthropist, Joseph was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New York's Belmont Park and builder of Miami's Hialeah Park racetrack in Florida. Joseph Early Widener was one of three sons of Peter Arrell Brown Widener [1834-1915] and his wife Hannah Josephine Dunton [c.1836-1896]. The son of a bricklayer, Peter went to public schools in Philadelphia, began his career as a butcher's assistant, and eventually rose to power and fortune in the trolley-car and financial industries. Of the three sons of Peter A.B. Widener, only Joseph survived his father. The eldest son, Henry K. Widener, died of typhoid at age 15, and the middle son, George Dunton Widener, died aboard the Titanic in 1912 along with his own son Harry Elkins Widener. Joseph Widener was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and at Harvard. The business of his life was the administration of the Widener estate. He was also active in racing circles, at one point being the largest individual stockholder of Belmont Park and owning stables at his Pennsylvania estate, in Chantilly, France, and in Kentucky. Joseph Widener was married to Ella Pancoast [d. 1929] of Philadelphia and had two children, Peter A.B. Widener, II and Josephine (Fifi). The Widener estate, Lynnewood Hall, is located in Elkins Park outside Philadelphia and housed an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative art and porcelains, which was ultimately donated to the National Gallery in 1942. In poor health for several years, Widener died at his Lynnewood Hall estate in 1943 and was interred in the Widener family mausoleum.
