John Thompson Dorrance (November 11, 1873 – September 21, 1930) was an American chemist and businessman who developed commercially available condensed soup. He served as president of the Campbell Soup Company from 1914 to 1930.
Early life and education
Dorrance was born November 11, 1873, in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He attended the Rugby Academy in Philadelphia and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1895 where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Göttingen in Germany in 1897. He worked in several restaurants in Paris, learned about soup flavorings, and had the idea to prepare and package soup in condensed form. Due to these costs savings, Campbells was able to lower the price of their soups from $0.34 down to $0.10.
In 1899, he produced the first batch of condensed soup. In 1900, he became a director and vice-president, and in 1914 became president and general manager. He was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. His estate in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania is now the home of Cabrini University.
He left a $120 million estate after his death. There was significant litigation over his domicile for purposes of estate and inheritance tax. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that he was domiciled in Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that he was domiciled in New Jersey, and his estate was required to pay estate tax to both states. The estate sought relief in the United States Supreme Court, but the request for review was denied.
87 of his offspring own a third of the Campbell's Soup company.
Personal life
He married Ethel Mallinckrodt on August 18, 1906, in Baltimore, Maryland, and together they had five children.