Dodd, S. C. T.

Dodd, S. C. T. (Samuel Calvin Tate)

(1836–1907) lawyer; born in Franklin, Pa. Admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1859, the year oil was discovered in the state, he specialized in corporate law. Having become the general solicitor for Standard Oil Company in New York City (1881), he proceeded to write a trust agreement for the nine trustees of the 40-some companies that made up Standard Oil; he then represented the company through two major court battles—the Ohio Supreme Court (1892) and the U.S. Supreme Court (1911)—arguing against the government's antitrust concerns. In both cases the government prevailed. He wrote several books, including Uses and Abuses of Combinations (1888) and History of Standard Oil (1888).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.