Charles Stewart Mott was born on June 2, 1875, and died on February 18, 1973. He was an American business leader, a person who helps others through donations, a co-owner of General Motors, and served as the 50th and 55th mayor of Flint, Michigan.
Mott was the main person behind starting the Flint Senior College, which is now called the University of Michigan–Flint. He began the idea of creating the college and promised to give $1 million to support the project.
Career
Charles Stewart Mott was born on June 2, 1875, in Newark, New Jersey, to John Coon Mott and Isabella Turnbull Stewart. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1897 with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1907, Mott moved his company, which made wheels and axles, from Utica, New York, to Flint, Michigan, after receiving an invitation from William C. Durant, who was then the president of the Buick Motor Company, which later became the General Motors Corporation. His company, Weston-Mott, later merged with General Motors. For many years, Mott remained the largest individual owner of shares in the company and earned more than $800 million. His key advisors at General Motors were Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., and Charles Kettering. In 1921, Mott became the chief of the GM Advisory Staff at the Detroit headquarters. He served on the GM Board of Directors for 60 years, from 1913 until his death in 1973. He was mayor of Flint, Michigan, from 1912 to 1913 but lost the election in 1914. He was re-elected mayor in 1918. In 1920, he ran in the Republican primary for governor of Michigan. In 1924 and 1940, he was a representative from Michigan at the Republican National Convention. In 1964, he was chosen as a Republican presidential elector for Michigan. In 1931, Mott purchased U.S. Sugar.
Philanthropy
In 1926, Mott started the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
In 1965, Mott gave $6.5 million to the University of Michigan to help build its first children's hospital. This donation was worth about $50 million in 2021. Because of his gift, the university named the hospital after him. The hospital had 200 beds and served about 3,500 children during its first year of operation.
In 1972, Mott received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
Personal life
C.S. Mott married Ethel Culbert Harding in 1900. They had three children: Aimee, Elsa, and C.S. Harding. Ethel Mott died in 1924 at the age of 43 after falling from the window of her bedroom on the second floor. In 1927, Mott married his second wife, Mitlies Rathburn (1892–1928). She died on February 26, 1928. In March 1929, Mott married his third wife, Dee Furey (1899–1986). He asked for a divorce in October of the same year. In 1934, Mott married his fourth wife, Ruth Rawlings. They had three children together: Susan Elizabeth, Stewart Rawlings, and Maryanne.
Applewood
C.S. Mott's estate in Flint, Michigan, called Applewood, was built in 1916 as a farm that could support itself for the Mott family. The main house and surrounding land cover about 34 acres (140,000 m²), with 18 acres carefully designed and decorated. These areas include gardens with plants that grow back every year, rose gardens, flower gardens for cutting, and a demonstration garden. There is also an orchard with 29 types of traditional apple trees. The Ruth Mott Foundation currently owns and cares for Applewood, which is open to the public during certain times of the year.
Death
Mott was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital in Flint on January 28, 1973, with a cold. He later developed a flu that got worse over time. Mott passed away on February 18, 1973, while staying in the hospital. Because of his death, Flint City Mayor Francis E. Limmer announced a seven-day mourning period in the city. Mott’s body was displayed publicly at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church before being buried in the Mott family mausoleum at Glenwood Cemetery.