Henry Francis Atherton (August 3, 1883 – February 10, 1949) was an American business executive, lawyer and Harvard alumnus.
His father was 48 years old at the time of his birth, and had been severely wounded in the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War.
His correspondence with his father whilst attending Harvard (1902–1906), forms part of the Henry B Atherton papers in Dartmouth College.
Whilst he was studying law at Harvard, his father died of pneumonia at the family home in Fairmount Heights, Nashua.
After a period of war service in the United States Army (1917–1919), he joined the National Aniline & Chemical Company (est.
[6] He was elected as chairman of the Board of Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation in 1935; a position he held right up to his untimely death whilst on vacation in Florida in 1949.
Atherton received a certificate of appreciation from the US Secretary of War in 1945 for his contributory role “in the establishment of important policies leading to an adequate supply of military chemicals”[10] He married Madeline Bicker Wesson, the daughter of Walter Herbert Wesson (1850–1921),[11] at her parents home in Crescent Hill, Springfield, Massachusetts on February 9, 1913.
He served in the United States Army during World War I as a captain, part of the time on an overseas assignment working in ordinance (1917–1919).
The New York Times reported on November 20, 1938, that “the popularity of Chase on Foot Grows on Long Island; Buckram Beagles Will Hold Three-Hour Run Today; Field to Start From Henry F. Atherton Estate in Brookville to Follow Pack Led by Marion Dillon”The Henry F. Atherton Estate and the neighboring landowners also hosted the annual steeplechase hunt.
Among his guests were exiled European royals such as Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, during World War II.
His paternal mother was a cousin of Bishop Levi Silliman Ives and U.S. District Judge Nathan K. Hall.