Robert W. Woodruff
Robert W. Woodruff | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 6, 1889 Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 1985 (aged 95) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Known for | President of The Coca-Cola Company (1923–1955) |
Robert Winship Woodruff (December 6, 1889 – March 7, 1985) was a prominent American entrepreneur who led The Coca-Cola Company as president from 1923 until 1955. As a wealthy philanthropist, his name is commemorated through numerous Atlanta landmarks such as the Woodruff Arts Center, Woodruff Park, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Early life
Woodruff was born in Columbus, Georgia to Ernest Woodruff, an Atlanta businessman who headed the investor group that purchased The Coca-Cola Company from Asa Griggs Candler in 1919. His grandfather was the industrialist Robert Winship.
He completed his education at the Georgia Military Academy, followed by brief periods at Georgia Tech and Oxford College of Emory University, where he demonstrated limited academic engagement.
Career and personal life
At age 19 in 1909, Woodruff started his career as a laborer with the General Pipe and Foundry Company in Atlanta. After a short dismissal and reinstatement by its parent firm, General Fire Extinguisher, he shifted to sales roles. He later worked at his father’s Atlantic Ice and Coal Company but departed due to disagreements. Capitalizing on his passion for automobiles, he obtained a sales position at White Motor Company in Cleveland and eventually became vice president. During World War I, he championed a truck model exclusive to White Motors, significantly increasing wartime sales.
To resolve familial conflicts, his father appointed him president of Coca-Cola.
Woodruff wed Nell Kendall Hodgson on October 17, 1912; the couple had no offspring.
By 1926, when he was 37 years old, Woodruff broadened Coca-Cola’s reach overseas by creating an international division.
He resigned as president in 1955 but continued serving on the board until 1984. Due to his sizeable ownership stake and Finance Committee membership, he maintained considerable sway over company direction for nearly sixty years.
Woodruff passed away on March 7, 1985, at age 95 and was interred at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, established through his estate, perpetuates his philanthropic impact throughout Georgia.
Legacy
In 1979, Woodruff and his brother George W. Woodruff gifted $105 million to Emory University, ultimately donating $230 million in total. Numerous Emory facilities and the Robert W. Woodruff Professorships honor his name.
His generosity extended to other local institutions including Woodward Academy in College Park and the Westminster Schools in Atlanta. The Robert W. Woodruff Scout Reservation, a Boy Scout camp located in Blairsville, Georgia, was founded with substantial contributions from the Woodruff Foundation and Coca-Cola. Atlanta’s premier cultural venue, the Woodruff Arts Center, along with Woodruff Park, also benefited from his donations. Libraries bearing his name serve both the Atlanta University Center—comprising Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University—and Emory University’s main campus.
In recognition of his business achievements, Woodruff was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1977.
He played an instrumental role in backing the 1964 Atlanta dinner honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. following King’s Nobel Peace Prize award; although absent from the event, Woodruff’s support helped increase ticket sales.
After his death, the Jones Center at Ichauway (previously known as the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center) was founded in 1991 to carry out his conservation goals for Ichauway Plantation—his expansive 29,000-acre quail hunting estate in Baker County, Georgia. Owned by The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Ichauway operates as a private nonprofit research facility dedicated to studying the longleaf pine ecosystem’s forestlands, water resources, and wildlife habitats.
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1889 births
- 1985 deaths
- American beverage industry executives
- Coca-Cola executives
- Atlanta business figures
- Individuals from Columbus, Georgia
- Atlanta history
- American food industry CEOs
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- Woodward Academy graduates
- 20th-century American business leaders
- American drink industry businesspeople