Joseph E. Widener
Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in Thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New York's Belmont Park and builder of Miami, Florida's Hialeah Park racetrack.Born in Philadelphia, he was the second son of Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836 – 1896) and the extremely wealthy transportation and real estate magnate Peter A. B. Widener (1834 – 1915). Joseph Widener attended Harvard University, and for a short time studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He married Ella Pancoast with whom he had two children, Peter A. B. Widener II, born in 1895, and Josephine "Fifi" Pancoast Widener, born in 1902. Fifi's daughter Joan Widener Leidy (1923–1988) was married from 1941 to 1950 to State Senator George Eustis Paine (1920–1991).Joseph Widener raised his family at Lynnewood Hall, his father's 110-room Georgian-style mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Designed by Horace Trumbauer and Jacques Greber, the mansion, along with its extensive and important art collection, was part of the huge fortune he inherited.
Personal facts
| Birth date | August 19, 1871 |
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| Date of death | October 26, 1943 |
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| Parents | Peter Arrell Brown Widener |
| Children | Peter A. B. Widener II Josephine P. Widener |