Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr.

Military Officer, Military Person

1874 – 1948

 Credit ยป
43

Who was Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr.?

Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle I, also known as Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr., was the man upon whom the book My Philadelphia Father and the play and film The Happiest Millionaire were based. He was a fellow of the American Geographical Society and was renowned as an eccentric gentleman whose fortune allowed him to pursue theatricals, self-published writing, athletics, and Christianity on a full-time basis; he also kept alligators as pets. He founded a movement called "Athletic Christianity" that eventually attracted 300,000 members around the world. A 1955 Sports Illustrated article called him "boxing's greatest amateur" as well as a "major factor in the re-establishment of boxing as a legal and, at that time, estimable sport."

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Oct 1, 1874
Philadelphia
Also known as
  • Anthony Drexel Biddle
  • Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle I
Parents
Spouses
Children
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Died
May 27, 1948
Philadelphia
Resting place
The Woodlands

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr.." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/anthony_j_drexel_biddle>.

Discuss this Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr. biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net