Davis, Morgan Jones, 1898-1979

Morgan Jones Davis was born in Anson, Texas on November 19, 1898 to John Wesley and Gabrella (Jones) Davis. He grew up in Fort Worth, worked as a ranch hand on the Texas Cattle Ranch in 1915, and entered Texas Christian University in 1916 where he studied geology under Professor W. M. Winton. He left T.C.U. in 1918, served briefly in the armed forces, and returned to T.C.U. for one semester.

Davis then came to the University of Texas and attended until 1921, when he took a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma as an engineer with the Tulsa Spavinaw Water Project. He was promoted to assistant superintendent and worked on the project until 1924. Davis returned to UT and received a B.A. in geology in 1925. While at UT, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Curtain Club. After graduating he joined Humble Oil and Refining Company as a geologist. On August 8, 1926 Davis married Veta Clare Moore of Tulsa; they subsequently parented two sons--Morgan Jones Jr. and James Harrison Davis.

After four years in Roswell, New Mexico, Davis left Humble and spent 1929 to 1934 with the Neaderlandsche Kolonidale Petroleum Maatschappis in Java and Sumatra. He led geological explorations into islands of the Indonesia Archipelago. L. T. Barrow of Humble rehired Davis in 1934 as New Mexico District Geologist, headquartered in Roswell. From that point he steadily progressed up the corporate ladder: Gulf Coast Division Geologist in 1936, chief geologist in 1941, and manager of the Exploration Department in 1946. Davis graduated from the Harvard School of Business Advance Management Program in 1947. He was elected to Humble's board of directors in 1948, named a vice-president in 1951, executive vice-president in 1956 and president in 1957. He oversaw the 1960 merger of Humble Oil and Refining Company with Esso Standard and Carter Oil companies, and retained the presidency of the new organization, also called Humble. At the time it was the largest company headquartered in Texas. The pinnacle of Davis' career was his election in 1961 as chairman and chief executive officer of Humble, posts he held until his retirement in 1963. Davis then worked as an independent oil consultant in Houston with his son Morgan Jr.

He served on the boards of several organizations: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (1961-1963), First City National Bank of Houston, Texas United Fund, American Petroleum Institute, Radio Free Europe (chairman), St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston and the Kinkaid School, Houston. He also served on the executive committee of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, on visiting committees of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration (1963-1969) and the Harvard College Division of Geological Sciences, and on the Advisory Council of the UT Geology Foundation.

Davis' professional affiliations included the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (president, 1952-1953), the Geological Society of America (president, 1968-1969), Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, Sigma Gamma Epsilon (honorary earth science fraternity) and Sigma Iota Epsilon (honorary business fraternity). Civic organizations that he belonged to included the Houston Citizens' Committee, Houston Committee on Foreign Relations, Harris County Heritage Society, and the Philosophical Society of Texas. Davis was a Mason and attended Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Houston.

Many awards were presented to Davis during his career. Among them were the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Distinguished Service Award (September 1960), an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Colorado School of Mines (1964), and the Sidney Powers Memorial Medal Award for Distinguished Achievement from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (1972).

Davis died of cancer on December 31, 1979 and was buried in Houston's Forest Park Cemetery.

From the guide to the Davis (Morgan Jones) Papers, 69-59., 1906(1948-1968)1980., (University of Texas at Austin, Center for American History)