Algur H. Meadows

Algur Hurtle Meadows (April 24, 1899 – June 10, 1978) was an American oil tycoon, art collector, and benefactor of Southern Methodist University and other institutions.

In the summer of 1936 Meadows, Peters and Trippett united with J. W. Gilliland, a petroleum expert, to form the General American Oil Company.

The new company experienced a phenomenal expansion in operations, due to an ingenious method of acquiring oil-producing properties that Meadows developed.

In 1983, Meadows, Trippett, and Peters' son, Eric Woods, sold General American Oil Company to Phillips Petroleum.

A hotel located right next door to the Museo Nacional del Prado, where Meadows frequented which inspired an interest in Spanish old masters.

Following the death of his wife in 1961, he donated his collection and a million-dollar endowment to Southern Methodist University in order to establish a museum of Spanish art in her memory.

He died in a Dallas hospital on June 10, 1978, after an automobile accident in Duncanville, Texas the night before,[4] and was entombed at Hillcrest Mausoleum.