“I remember being two or three on the front lawn in Paris and he stood me underneath an apple tree, then stepped around back and shook it so hard that apples were raining down on me–that was the first trick he pulled that I can remember,” he laughs. “He passed away when I was 12-years-old–it was a short but memorable period,” recalls Biddle’s son, Anthony "Tony" J. The couple raised their two children between France, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. In 1946 Biddle married his third wife, Margaret Atkinson Loughborough, a major also serving under Eisenhower. Courtesy of The Drexel CollectionĪfter leaving the State Department in 1944 Biddle re-enlisted in the army, rose to the rank of Brigadier General, and served in various high-level positions under General Eisenhower until retiring in 1955. Watch fob for the Special Boxing Exhibition at the Athletic Club of Philadelphia, February 23, 1909. But it’s perhaps his service to the United States during the course of two World Wars, and several administrations, that should be remembered as Biddle’s most meaningful contribution. He was also a founding member of the Palm Beach Bath & Tennis Club, and as a court tennis champion won the Racquet d’Argent in France in 1933. In 1937 Biddle was named among the best-dressed by the National Association of Merchant Tailors of America, and by Flair in 1950, and Esquire in 1960. The prominent Philadelphian was a favorite subject of society columns, receiving regular recognition for his personal style and athleticism.
Drexel Biddle, Jr., chronicles the extraordinary life of the great grandson of Drexel University’s founder, Anthony J. Now a new exhibition at Drexel University, Citizen, Soldier, Diplomat: An Exhibition on the Life and Career of Anthony J. could easily lay claim to being one of the most fascinating-though often forgotten-figures of the 20th century.
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