George D. Widener Jr.

, into the wealthy Widener family. He was the younger son of George Dunton Widener and Eleanor Elkins Widener, and brother to Harry Elkins Widener and Eleanor Widener Dixon. His grandfathers, the streetcar magnate Peter A. B. Widener and the oil and steel financier William Lukens Elkins, were long-time friends and business partners. His father and brother both died in the sinking of the Titanic. ==Business career==

He managed the family finances and was a director of the Electric Storage Battery Company and the Provident National Bank in Philadelphia. ==Horse racing==

, Widener's 446-acre estate and horse farm in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania Greatly influenced by his uncle Joseph E. Widener, he became involved in thoroughbred horse racing. He purchased a portion of Elmendorf Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, which became known as Old Kenney Farm. He bred horses and raised 102 stakes winners including seven champions. He won the Travers Stakes five times, tying him for the record of most wins. He was the owner of Eight Thirty who was entered into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1994. His stakes winners included Evening Out, High Fleet, Jaipur, Jamestown, Platter, Stefanita, and What a Treat. In 1971, he was the first to be named an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. ==Philanthropy==

He served as chairman of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 1954, he built the 80-room Widener Memorial School for handicapped children which is now a part of the School District of Philadelphia. ==Personal life==

In 1917, he married divorcée Jessie (née Sloane) Dodge, daughter of Henry T. Sloane and Jessie Robbins, and became stepfather to Diana Dodge. He was the first Widener accepted into the Philadelphia Club. Widener died on December 8, 1971 and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. He left the farm and his personal fortune to his nephew, Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. ==Legacy==

In 1980, an addition to the New Bolton Center veterinary hospital was renamed the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. ==References==