Maxwell Wilber Becton (August 22, 1868 – January 2, 1951) was an American industrialist and businessman. [1] He co-founded Becton, Dickinson and Company in 1897 with Fairleigh S. Dickinson. [2] He also co-founded Fairleigh Dickinson College. [3]
Early life
Becton was born on his family's plantation in Kinston, North Carolina on August 22, 1868. [4] His parents were Eliza and Jarman Becton. [1] [3] Growing up, he attended the Woodington Methodist Church. [4] He attended local schools. [3] He attended Rutherford College. [4] However, the college burned in 1888, so he only completed two years of college. [4] He then moved to New York. [4]
Career
In New York in 1888, Becton worked as a salesman. [3] In 1891, he moved to Montana where he worked in real estate. [1] [3] He moved to Boston in 1895 and co-founded Randall and Becton, a medical thermometer company. [4] [3] While in Texas on a sales trip, he met Fairleigh S. Dickinson (1866–1948), co-founder of Becton Dickinson and the named benefactor of Fairleigh Dickinson University who was a paper salesman. [1] [4] The two men discovered that they grew up fifty miles apart in North Carolina and had the same birthday. [4] They quickly became close friends. [4]
After buying out Randall, Becton and Dickerson created a partnership to sell medical thermometers and syringes, in 1897. [1] [2] [4] Later, the company also produced hypodermic needles and syringes to inject insulin. [4] The company incorporated as Becton, Dickinson & Company in 1906 and built a manufacturing plant in East Rutherford, New Jersey. [1] [2] Becton served as the company's secretary and treasurer, and later served as the chairman of the board. [1]
Becton, Dickinson & Company supplied medical instruments to the United States Army during the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II. [1] As the company expanded, it grew to become a manufacturer of instruments for surgery, dentistry, and veterinary. [4] They also made medical bags [4] and invented new instruments, including the binaural stethoscope and the mercurial sphygmomanometer that measured blood pressure. [4] They also developed an all cotton elastic bandage, named the ACE bandage in 1918. [4] In 1948, the founder's sons took over management of the company. [2]
In the 1920s, Becton and Fairleigh purchased the South Bergen Savings and Loan Association together, with Becton serving as its president. [1] [4] The bank was later known as the National Community Bank of New Jersey. [4] He was also vice president and a director of the Rutherford National Bank. [1] [3] He was president of the Bergen County Chamber of Commerce. [3]
Personal life
Becton married Valarie Prentiss of Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1913. [4] [3] They had three children, Henry Becton, Suzanne Becton, and Valerie Becton. [4] The family built a home in Rutherford, across the street from Dickinson's house. [4]
Becton was a major donor to Fairleigh Dickerson College when it was established in 1941, allowing the construction of Becton Hall. [3] [1] He served on the college's board of trustees. [4] On the campus, Bector Hall and the Maxwell Becton School of Arts and Science were named in his honor. [4] [1] He was a trustee of Hackensack Hospital. [3] He donated in his mother's memory to build a new building for the Woodington Methodist Church in Woodington, North Carolina. [4] Later, he donated a Hammond electric organ to the church. [4]
He was a member of the Freemans, belonging to the Boiling Springs Lodge, the Knights Templar, and the Lafayette Commandery. [1] He was president of the Rutherford Rotary Club, a director of the YMCA, and a member the New York Southern Society. [3] He also belonged to the New Jersey Senior Golf Association. [3]
Becton had a stroke in 1943 and cut back on working. [4] He died in his home in Rutherford, New Jersey on January 2, 1951, at the age of 83 years. [3] [1] He was buried in the Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. [5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n " M.W. Becton Dead; Manufacturer, 83; Maker of Surgical Instruments Was a Founder of Fairleigh Dickinson College in 1941", The New York Times, January 3, 1951, p. 25.
- ^ a b c d "History of Becton, Dickinson & Company – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Maxwell Wilbur Bection Dies, Industrial and Civic Leader". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. 1951-01-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Phillips, Jane (2018-09-01). "Meet Maxwell Becton, entrepreneur". Neuse News. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
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^ "Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place".
The New York Times. March 28, 2004.
But there are a slew of other places around New Jersey with their own pantheons. Consider the eclectic group at rest in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst: the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet William Carlos Williams and both founders of the former industrial giant Becton-Dickinson, Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, for whom the New Jersey university is named.