Biography
Charles H. Murphy Jr. was born in El Dorado, Arkansas on March 6, 1920 when his father was 50 years old. Charles Murphy’s father owned 13 banks in El Dorado. Later, he sold 12 of those banks and used the money to buy land. He also owned a sawmill and a railroad to supply the mill with timber. He found oil on land that he owned. It was called Smackover field!
Charles loved to read and learn! Charles learned all about the oil business (and lots of other things) during summer drives with his father. As a teenager, Charles ran his own oil business. When his father had a stroke in 1941, Murphy had to take over his businesses.
Charles and his siblings started an oil company. That company would become Murphy Oil Corporation. The company discovered oil fields in several states. Murphy Oil Corporation helped finance the development of the world’s first submersible oil rig which could run in the open ocean. It was a brand-new idea and many companies thought it wouldn’t work. But Charles Murphy took a chance and it was a huge success! It changed the way that oil was drilled. Charles Murphy named the rig “Mr. Charlie” in honor of his father.
Later, Murphy Oil Company would form other companies such as Deltic Timber and Murphy USA.
Charles Murphy continued his love of learning and wanted to share it with others. According to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, “[h]e served on the Arkansas Board of Higher Education, as a trustee of Hendrix College, a director of the Smithsonian Institution and chairman of the National Petroleum Council. He established the Murphy Institute of Political Economy at Tulane University.” Murphy Oil also funded the El Dorado Promise, a program that provides students who have attended El Dorado schools with money to attend college.
Charles loved to read and learn! Charles learned all about the oil business (and lots of other things) during summer drives with his father. As a teenager, Charles ran his own oil business. When his father had a stroke in 1941, Murphy had to take over his businesses.
Charles and his siblings started an oil company. That company would become Murphy Oil Corporation. The company discovered oil fields in several states. Murphy Oil Corporation helped finance the development of the world’s first submersible oil rig which could run in the open ocean. It was a brand-new idea and many companies thought it wouldn’t work. But Charles Murphy took a chance and it was a huge success! It changed the way that oil was drilled. Charles Murphy named the rig “Mr. Charlie” in honor of his father.
Later, Murphy Oil Company would form other companies such as Deltic Timber and Murphy USA.
Charles Murphy continued his love of learning and wanted to share it with others. According to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, “[h]e served on the Arkansas Board of Higher Education, as a trustee of Hendrix College, a director of the Smithsonian Institution and chairman of the National Petroleum Council. He established the Murphy Institute of Political Economy at Tulane University.” Murphy Oil also funded the El Dorado Promise, a program that provides students who have attended El Dorado schools with money to attend college.
Resources
Videos
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Sources
Mr. Charlie Oil Drilling Rig - American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The Rig Museum, Mr. Charlie in Morgan City, Louisiana - "The only place in the world where the general public can walk aboard an authentic offshore drilling rig!"