Hugh Rodham (born 1911)

This article is about Hillary Clinton's father. For her brother, see Hugh Rodham (born 1950).

Hugh Ellsworth Rodham (April 2, 1911 – April 7, 1993) was an American businessman. He was the father of Hillary Clinton.

Hugh Rodham
Born	Hugh Ellsworth Rodham (1911-04-02)April 2, 1911 Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 7, 1993(1993-04-07) (aged 82) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting place	Washburn Street Cemetery
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University (BS)
Occupation	Businessman
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dorothy Howell ​ (m. 1942)​
Children	Hillary Clinton Hugh Rodham Tony Rodham
Relatives	Bill Clinton (son-in-law) Chelsea Clinton (granddaughter)

Early life and education

Hugh Ellsworth Rodham was born on April 2, 1911, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Hugh Rodham (1879–1965) and Hannah Jones (1882–1952).^[1] His parents were from the United Kingdom – his father emigrated from Oxhill, County Durham, England, at a young age with his family, he being the son of a coal miner,^[2] while his mother was born in Pennsylvania, to immigrant parents from Wales, one of whom was from Merthyr Tydfil; she was also descended from coal miner parents.^[1][3][4][5]

Rodham attended Pennsylvania State University and was a third-string tight end for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team.^[6] He joined the Delta Upsilon.^[4] He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education^[4] from the College of Education in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression.

Career

Rodham briefly worked for his mother's employer, Scranton Lace Company,^[7] then freighthopped to Chicago without telling his parents.^[4] Rodham found work there selling drapery fabrics around the Midwest, sending the money he made back home.^[4]

In World War II, Rodham served in the United States Navy. He became a chief petty officer stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station, performing training duties for sailors headed for the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.^[4] After the war, he established a successful career in the textile supply industry, starting with Rodrik Fabrics, a drapery fabric business located in Chicago's famous Merchandise Mart building.^[4] His company made draperies and window shades; customers included offices, hotels, airlines, and theaters.^[6] He later opened a fabric print plant building on the North Side.^[4] During the 1940s, Rodham and his wife Dorothy lived in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago.^[8]

Rodham entered politics once. Hoping to work his way into favor with the Cook County Democratic Party political machine in order to capitalize on a downtown investment he had made, he ran for Chicago alderman as a Democratic-leaning independent in 1947.^[6] The contest, held in Chicago's 49th Ward, was won by Frank Keenan, a Democratic ward committeeman running on the regular Democratic line, with 17,073 votes; a Republican, Joseph Reubens, finished second with 5,509 votes.^[9] Rodham finished fifth out of eight candidates with only 382 votes, or 1.5 percent of the total votes cast.^[9] According to some family members, this episode led to his strong dislike of the Democratic Party for the rest of his life.^[6]

Rodham was a staunch supporter of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign and remained a committed Republican until his death. Even after his daughter married Democrat Bill Clinton, he (according to Bill Clinton) "never gave up hope that his son-in-law would join him in the Republican Party and support a cut in the capital gains tax."^[10] In late 1992, following son-in-law Bill Clinton's election as president, Rodham made a cameo appearance on the television comedy Hearts Afire, whose producers were friends of the Clintons.^[11]

Personal life

In 1937, while Rodham was making a sales call at a textile company, he met Dorothy Emma Howell (1919–2011), who was applying for a job at that company.^[4][7] After a lengthy courtship, they married in early 1942.^[4] The Rodhams had three children: Hillary (born 1947), Hugh (born 1950), and Tony (1954–2019). In 1950, they moved to the more affluent Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois.^[4] The family still maintained ties to Scranton: all three children were christened there, and they spent summers in a rural region that overlooks Lake Winola, located in Overfield Township in the Endless Mountains area of Pennsylvania.^[4][7] staying in a cottage that in 1921, Hugh and his father had built themselves.^[12]

Death

Hugh Rodham died in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Wednesday, April 7, 1993, five days after his 82nd birthday, three weeks after suffering a stroke,^[11] and less than three months after his son-in-law Bill Clinton's inauguration as 42nd President of the United States. Following a private memorial service in Little Rock attended by the Clintons, he was buried in the Washburn Street Cemetery in his native Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a private funeral also attended by the Clinton family.^[11]