Noted capitalist and prize winning Angus breeder, Thorne also led efforts to establish grades on market beef.
1866-1948 | Artist: Unknown
Impact & Accomplishments
Oakleigh Thorne owned a company that published tax guides for attorneys and accountants; he was president of the Wall Street bank, Trust Company of America; and he was a director of Wells Fargo & Company.
In 1918, he left these business pursuits to purchase Briarcliff, a 4,000-acre farm in Dutchess County, New York, where he proceeded to demonstrate that the region was as suitable to beef cattle production as it had been to dairy farming. He was the first individual to win the grand championship at the International Live Stock Exposition twice, in 1931 and 1933.
Oakleigh Thorne was president of the American Angus Association from 1929 to 1931 and was inducted into the Angus Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame in 1934. As chairman of the Better Beef Association, Thorne led efforts to establish grades on market beef in 1927.
Did You Know?
He was Briarcliff Thickset, a glossy Aberdeen Angus eleven months old, whose 1,140 lb. of bone, gristle and good red meat were formed so well and in such good condition that the judges named him world's grand champion, Steer of the Year. - Time Magazine Dec. 14, 1931
A "crack shot" in pigeon shooting, Thorne won the international pigeon-shooting match for the Gun Club International Cup in England in July 1892, as one of three Americans out of 69 competitors.
The Thorne Memorial Building is a three-story Beaux Arts style, former school building that was built and donated to the Village of Millbrook by the Thorne family in 1895. It served as the Village’s public high school until 1962, and other community uses from 1962 until the mid-1990’s, and since then has been used for special events.
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