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{{Infobox person
'''Charles William Harkness''' (December 17, 1860 &ndash; May 1, 1916)<ref name="NYTimes">"Chas. W. Harkness Left An Estate of $60,000,000," New York Times, December 8, 1916</ref> was the son of [[Stephen V. Harkness]], an original investor in the company that became [[Standard Oil]], and his second wife, the former [[Anna Harkness|Anna M. Richardson]]. He is the brother of [[Edward Harkness]], noted philanthropist and half brother of [[Lamon V. Harkness]].▼
[[File:Charles| W.name = Harkness.png|thumb|Charles W. Harkness]]
| image = Charles W. Harkness.png
| DATE OF BIRTH birth_date = December 17, 1860▼
| PLACE OF BIRTH birth_place = [[Monroeville, Ohio]], US▼
| death_date = May 1, 1916 (age 55)
| death_place = [[New York City]]
| resting_place = [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]]▼
| education = [[Yale College]] (1883)
| occupation = Business investor, heir
| party =
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Warden|May 27, 1896||reason=}}
| parents = [[Stephen V. Harkness]]<br>[[Anna M. Harkness|Anna M. Richardson]]
}}▼
▲'''Charles William Harkness''' (December 17, 1860 &ndash; May 1, 1916)<ref name="NYTimes">"{{cite news |title=Chas. W. Harkness Left An Estate of $60,000,000," |newspaper=New York Times, |date=8 December 8,1916 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/12/08/archives/chas-w-harkness-left-an-estate-of-60000000-tax-appraisal-shows-oil.html |accessdate=27 May 2015}}</ref> was thea son of [[Stephen V. Harkness]], (an original investor in the company that became [[Standard Oil]],) and his second wife, the former [[Anna Harkness|Anna M. Richardson]].<ref He is the brother of [[Edward Harkness]], noted philanthropist and half brother of [[Lamon V. Harkness]].name="CWHObit1916"/>
 
==Early life==
Charles was born in [[Monroeville, Ohio]], and his early education was in [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] at The Brooks Military Academy. He earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from [[Yale University|Yale College]] with the Class of 1883. Harkness, his cousin [[William L. Harkness]] (Yale Class of 1881), and others help found [[Wolf's Head (secret society)|Wolf's Head Society]], known originally as ''The Third Society'', at Yale in 1883.<ref>Phelps Association Membership Directory, 2006</ref> Harkness married Miss Mary Warden, daughter of William G. Warden who was an early [[Standard Oil]] partner and thus kept the [[Standard Oil]] fortune "in the family".
Charles was born in [[Monroeville, Ohio]] on December 17, 1860. His parents were [[Stephen V. Harkness]] (1818–1888) and the former [[Anna M. Harkness|Anna Marie Richardson]] (1837–1926), his father's second wife. He was the brother of [[Edward Harkness]], noted philanthropist and half brother of [[Lamon V. Harkness]]. He was a cousin of [[William L. Harkness]].<ref name="CWHObit1916"/>
 
His early education was in [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] at The Brooks Military Academy. He earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from [[Yale University|Yale College]] with the Class of 1883. While at Yale, he was described as "care-free, happy, irresponsible as the rest of us."<ref name = "carillon">[{{Cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/carillon/bradfordhistory.html |title=Yale University, ''A History of the Yale Memorial Carillon'']</ref> On his father's death in 1888, Charles inherited stock in [[Standard Oil]] amounting to the second largest holding in the company, surpassed only by that of the [[Rockefeller family]].<ref name|access-date=2010-09-06 |archive-url= "Forbes">[httphttps://wwwweb.forbesarchive.comorg/2002web/0920110228135324/http:/27/0927richest_7www.yale.edu/carillon/bradfordhistory.html Forbes,|archive-date=2011-02-28 ''America's|url-status=dead Richest'']}}</ref> Harkness became a director at [[Standard Oil]] and was a director of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, and the Tilden Iron Mining Company, and managed his father's immense holdings.<ref name = "Case Western Reserve Society Annual Report">[https://archive.org/stream/publication97to101westuoft/publication97to101westuoft_djvu.txt] Case Western Reserve Society Annual Report - October, 1917</ref>
 
==Career==
C.W. purchased the Henry Flagler townhouse at 685 Fifth Ave, New York and also owned a home in Madison, NJ. Harkness was a member of the [[University Club of New York]], the [[Morris County Golf Club]] of [[Morristown, NJ]] , The Down Town Club in Philadelphia, [[Newport Country Club]], [[Newport Casino]] and [[New York Yacht Club|The New York Yacht Club]].
On his father's death in 1888, Charles inherited stock in [[Standard Oil]] amounting to the second largest holding in the company, surpassed only by that of the [[Rockefeller family]].<ref name = "Forbes">{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/2002/09/27/0927richest_7.html |title=Forbes, ''America's Richest'' |website=[[Forbes]] |access-date=2017-08-25 |archive-date=2013-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117095054/http://www.forbes.com/2002/09/27/0927richest_7.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Harkness became a director at [[Standard Oil]] and was a director of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Tilden Iron Mining Company, and managed his father's immense holdings.<ref name = "Case Western Reserve Society Annual Report">[https://archive.org/stream/publication97to101westuoft/publication97to101westuoft_djvu.txt] Case Western Reserve Society Annual Report - October, 1917</ref>
 
Harkness purchased the [[Henry Flagler]] townhouse at 685 Fifth Ave, New York and also owned a home in Madison, NJ and a winter home in St. Augustine, FL.<ref name="CWHObit1916"/>
He died suddenly in 1916, leaving a fortune. The large portion of his Standard Oil stock was left to his brother [[Edward S. Harkness]].<ref name = "Forbes" /><ref name="Dynastic America">Dynastic America and Those Who Own It By Henry H. Klein isbn:1-59605-671-1</ref> One half his residual estate, his home in New York at 2 West 54th Street and his country home in Madison, NJ (designed by [[James Gamble Rogers]] who designed many Harkness buildings) were bequeathed to his wife Mary. He left $100,000 as a token of affection and esteem to his brother [[Lamon V. Harkness]]. Lamon had already died a year before Charles' death. Lamon had been quite wealthy in his own right from his inheritance from their father Stephen V. Harkness.<ref name="New York Times Obituary May 9, 1916">[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0B13FA3A5B17738DDDA00894DD405B868DF1D3] CW Harkness, New York Times Obituary May 9, 1916</ref>
 
==LegacyPersonal life==
On May 27, 1896, Harkness married Miss Mary Warden in Philadelphia, PA. Mary was the daughter of William G. Warden, who was an early [[Standard Oil]] partner, and the granddaughter of industrialist [[Daniel Bushnell]].
[[Harkness Tower]] at Yale is named after Charles W. Harkness because his mother, Anna Harkness, provided a $3,000,000 donation to build the [[Memorial Quadrangle]] of dormitories in his memory. Harkness tower contains the [[Yale Memorial Carillon]], a [[carillon]] of 54 bells, the largest of which is inscribed "In Memory of Charles W. Harkness, Class of 1883, Yale College."<ref name = "carillon" />▼
 
Harkness fell seriously ill in fall 1915. After spending part of winter in St.Augustine at his wife's family home at Warden Castle, he returned home to New York, where he died May 1, 1916.<ref name="CWHObit1916">{{cite news|title=C. W. HARKNESS. OF STANDARD OIL, DIES; Third Largest Holder, with Brother, of Company's Stock a Victim of Apoplexy at 56. A DIRECTOR IN RAILWAYS Member of Many Clubs and Owner of the Yacht Agawa Was Educated for a Lawyer.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/05/02/archives/c-w-harkness-of-standard-oil-dies-third-largest-holder-with-brother.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2 May 1916}}</ref> He left an estate of $170 million, worth ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|170000000|1916}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}<ref name="CWHEstate1916">{{cite news|title=C.W. HARKNESS LEFT $170,000,000 ESTATE; Standard Oil Holdings to Brother, Edward S., Make Him Third Largest Holder. $500,000 BEQUEST TO YALE Presbyterian Hospital Gets $350,000;- Widow and Brother Share Residuary Estate.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/05/09/archives/cw-harkness-left-170000000-estate-standard-oil-holdings-to-brother.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 May 1916}}</ref> Since he had no children, the large portion of his Standard Oil stock was left to his brother [[Edward S. Harkness]].<ref name = "Forbes" /><ref name="Dynastic America">{{cite book |last=Klein |first=Henry H. |title=Dynastic America and Those Who Own It |date=December 2005 |isbn=1-59605-671-1}}</ref> One half his residual estate, his home in New York at 2 West 54th Street and his country home in Madison, NJ (designed by [[James Gamble Rogers]] who designed many Harkness buildings) were bequeathed to his wife Mary. He left $100,000 as a token of affection and esteem to his brother [[Lamon V. Harkness]] although Lamon had already died a year before Charles' death. Lamon had been quite wealthy in his own right from his inheritance from their father Stephen V. Harkness.<ref name="New York Times Obituary May 9, 1916">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/05/09/104674549.pdf] CW Harkness, New York Times Obituary May 9, 1916</ref>
The Cleveland Museum of Art has a $100,000 permanent [[Financial endowment|endowment]] known as the Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund,<ref>[http://www.jstor.org/pss/25137106 The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 15, No. 2, February 1928]</ref> which was created through a donation from his widow, Mary Warden Harkness.
 
===Legacy===
▲[[Harkness Tower]] at Yale is named after Charles W. Harkness. becauseAnna Harkness, his mother, Anna Harkness, provided adonated $3,000,000 donation to build the [[Memorial Quadrangle]] of dormitories in his memory. Harkness towerTower contains the [[Yale Memorial Carillon]], a [[carillon]] of 54 bells, the largest of which is inscribed "In Memory of Charles W. Harkness, Class of 1883, Yale College."<ref name = "carillon" />
 
The Cleveland Museum of Art has a $100,000 permanent [[Financial endowment|endowment]] known as the Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund,<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/25137106 The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 15, No. 2, February 1928]</ref> which was created through a donation from his widow, Mary Warden Harkness.<ref name="1916ChasEstate">{{cite news|title=CHAS. W. HARKNESS LEFT AN ESTATE OF $60,000,000; Tax Appraisal Shows Oil Financier Was One of the World's Richest Men. UP $15,000,000 SINCE DEATH Began as a Young Man, Lately Out of School, with $1,500,000 Inherited from Father. HELD LITTLE REAL ESTATE Fortune Nearly All in Stocks and Bonds -- Died 15 Days Before State Tax Was Advanced. C.W. HARKNESS LEFT $60,000,000 ESTATE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/12/08/archives/chas-w-harkness-left-an-estate-of-60000000-tax-appraisal-shows-oil.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=8 December 1916}}</ref>
 
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>
 
==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles William Harkness}}
 
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Harkness, Charles W.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American businessman
▲| DATE OF BIRTH = December 17, 1860
▲| PLACE OF BIRTH = Monroeville, Ohio
| DATE OF DEATH = May 1, 1916
| PLACE OF DEATH = New York, New York
▲| resting_place = [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]]
▲}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, Charles W.}}
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:Yale UniversityCollege alumni]]
[[Category:American energy industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:Harkness family|Charles]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
[[Category:People from Monroeville, Ohio]]
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