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The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the United States.
Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was an American Thoroughbred horse race owner, breeder, and racetrack owner. He was a member of the wealthy Widener family, raised seventy-nine stakes race winners, and owned the Belmont Park and Hialeah Park racetracks.
John Thomas Downey or Jack Downey (April 19, 1930 – November 17, 2014) was an American judge and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. [1] As a CIA operative, he was shot down over China during the Korean War and was held prisoner for over twenty years—the longest-held prisoner of war in United States history.
The collection had been assembled by Widener and his younger son, Joseph E. Widener. Peter Widener died at Lynnewood Hall at the age of 80 on November 6, 1915, after prolonged poor health. [1] He was predeceased by his elder son George Dunton Widener and grandson Harry Elkins Widener, both of whom died when RMS Titanic sank in 1912.
He joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) soon after Boston University and became one of two CIA Paramilitary Officers in Special Activities Division (the other was John T. Downey, a Yale graduate) who survived the shoot-down of their Civil Air Transport C-47 spy-collection mission over the People's Republic of China in November 1952.
The Widener fortune, amassed in the meat-packing and streetcar businesses, saw Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. listed in Forbes Magazine's 400 Richest Americans in 1985, 1991, and 1995. Dixon bred thoroughbred racehorses at Erdenheim Farm, and was a member and one-time Chairman of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.
In 1912, Widener, his wife, and their son Harry traveled to Paris, France, with original intentions to find a chef for Widener's new Philadelphia hotel, The Ritz Carlton. The Wideners booked their return passage on RMS Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, Widener placed his wife and her maid Amalie Gieger [4] in a lifeboat.
John G. Downey (1827–1894), Governor of California; John T. Downey (1930–2014), former CIA officer shot down over communist China and imprisoned for two decades; John V. Downey (c. 1884–1960), New York politician; John W. Downey (1927–2004), contemporary classical composer; John Downey (Iowa politician) (1834–1906), Irish-born ...