Warner Norton Grubb
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
New York City, New York
United States of AmericaWarner Norton Grubb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 29, 1900 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 13, 1947 (aged 46) New York City, New York |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1918, 1942-1945 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Unit | Army-Navy Petroleum Board (1942-1943), SHAEF (1943-1944), Allied Tanker Coordination Committee (1945) |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Legion of Merit |
| Other work | ESSO |
Warner Norton Grubb (April 29, 1900 – February 13, 1947) was an American petroleum executive who served as a senior petroleum distribution officer with the U.S. Navy during World War II.[1][2] He was assigned as Head of the Latin American section of the Army-Navy Petroleum Board, Tanker Control Officer for the European Theater, and finally as Executive Officer of the Allied Tanker Board. At the end of the conflict, he was promoted to Commodore and awarded the Legion of Merit.[3]
W. Norton Grubb was born in Philadelphia and was the son of Edith (Norton) and Warner Grubb, a forman for the Fells Soap company. After graduation from South Philadelphia High School in 1917, Norton served briefly as a seaman in the Navy Reserves during World War I[1] before majoring in chemistry at Penn State.[4] In 1920, Grubb was an alternate on the U.S. rowing team at the Antwerp Olympics. The next year, he joined the Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia and by 1929 was promoted to Director, Atlantic Refining of Africa. In 1931, Norton was transferred to Sydney, Australia. Two years later, he was hired by ESSO as President of the West Indies Oil Company in Latin America and later promoted as a Director in London.[4] Norton was finally transferred back to ESSO Manhattan headquarters in 1939.[3]
In 1941, Grubb represented the company in negotiations with the British Government in London from February through June. Upon his return to the United States, he was interviewed by the New York Times concerning Great Britain's oil supplies.[5] In October 1942, he was commissioned as a Navy lieutenant commander and assigned to Washington, D.C. as Head of the Latin American section of the Army-Navy Petroleum Board.[1] At the end of December 1943, he was reassigned as Tanker Control Officer for the European Theater in London.[1] Promoted to captain in May 1944, Grubb was transferred back to Washington in December as Executive Officer of the Allied Tanker Board until September 1945.[1]