John S. Wold

John S. Wold
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWyoming'sAt-largedistrict
In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	William H. Harrison
Succeeded by	Teno Roncalio
Personal details
Born	John Schiller Wold (1916-08-31)August 31, 1916 East Orange,New Jersey,U.S.
Died	February 19, 2017(2017-02-19)(aged 100) Casper,Wyoming,U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jane Wold ​ ​ (m.1946; died 2015)​
Alma mater	Union College,Cornell University

John Schiller Wold(August 31, 1916 – February 19, 2017) was an American business executive,philanthropist,World War IIveteran, andRepublicanpolitician fromWyoming.He served a single term in theUnited States House of Representativesfrom 1969 to 1971.He was the first professionalgeologistto have served in Congress.

Early life

John Wold was born on August 31, 1916, inEast Orange,New Jersey.His father Peter Irving Wold was the chairman of the department of physics atUnion CollegeinSchenectady, New York.His father and five aunts had grown up inEugene, Oregonand earned their degrees at theUniversity of Oregon.

Wold graduated from Union College inSchenectady, New Yorkin 1938 andCornell Universityin 1939 with degrees in geology.DuringWorld War II,he served as a consulting physicist and gunnery officer for theU.S. Navy.

Career

In 1949, he moved to Wyoming to work for an oil company and founded his own company, Wold Oil Properties, a year later.Wold founded Wold Oil Properties, Inc. in 1950 inCasper, Wyoming.

He entered politics in 1956, winning a seat to the Wyoming House of Representatives. He served one term from 1957 to 1959 and was the state's Republican chairman from 1960 to 1964. In 1964, he ran for the U.S. Senate against freshman incumbent DemocratGale McGee,who won by a 54% to 46% margin.

In 1968, he narrowly defeated on-again, off-again CongressmanWilliam Henry Harrisonin the Republican primary before winning a decisive general election victory. Two years later, he gave up his House seat to run against incumbent Sen.Gale McGeeagain.He lost the race by 56% to 44% and returned to the private sector, but remained active as a Republican political donor.

Philanthropy

In 2002, Wold made a $20 million donation to his alma mater, Union College. The donation was at the time the biggest single contribution in the university's history.The American Heritage Center at theUniversity of Wyomingnamed Wold as the "Wyoming Citizen of the Century" in the minerals, gas, and oil category in 1999. He also contributed $2 million to Cornell University.

Wold and his eponymous foundation contributed $7.5 million to theOregon Health & Science University's Casey Eye Institute inPortland, Oregon.The donation was dedicated to a new center with the mission of fighting the onset of adult blindness brought on bymacular degeneration,a disease from which Wold had suffered for the last 20 years of his life.

Personal life

John Wold died on February 19, 2017, in Casper at the age of 100.Wold Oil Company is now operated by his son, Peter. Another son, Jack, is chief executive officer of an energy company inDenver, Colorado.

External links

• John Wold ’38 celebrates 100th birthday, donates $5M in memory of wife, Jane
• Casper Businessman and Philanthropist John Wold Passes Away
• "Union receives $20 million gift from John and Jane Wold." 21 November 2002.

• United States Congress."John S. Wold (id: W000671)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Political Contributions OpenSecrets