Frederic C. Hamilton

Frederic C. Hamilton (born September 25, 1927) is the chairman of Hamilton Groups LLC, a loosely connected group of companies focused on oil production, real estate holdings and educational institutions.

Frederic C. Hamilton founded Hamilton Oil Corporation in the late 1960s, built it into an international oil company and also formed a domestic gas company, both of which he merged into a major integrated oil company in the mid-1980s. He is now Chairman of The Hamilton Companies, which is active in venture capital, private equity, oil and gas, real estate, mortgage lending, securities and acquisitions operations.

Early life

Frederic Hamilton was born in Columbus, Ohio, but he spent much of his childhood in Springfield, Illinois. He was educated at Millbrook and Lawrenceville Schools and Babson College

He served in the Air Force. He began his career as a roughneck and roustabout in the oil fields of Texas.

Oil exploration

Frederic Hamilton has been called one of America’s oil pioneers. He started Hamilton Brothers Drilling Company along with his brother Ferris in Dallas, Texas in 1950 with a $5,000 loan from their mother. Their success enabled them to expand into oil and gas exploration with a partnership known as Hamilton Brothers. In 1962, this became Hamilton Brothers Oil Company and the company moved to Denver. His family have resided in Denver for more than 50 years.

In the early '70s, Hamilton Brothers was the first company to find and produce oil in the North Sea. They drilled the first well in the East China Sea and later the first in the Barents Sea offshore Russia. They also developed and used the first floating production system in the world.

Philanthropy

Frederic C. Hamilton currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Denver Art Museum (DAM) Board of Trustees. Hamilton served as the DAM’s Vice Chairman beginning in 1984, became Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 1994 and acted as Co-Chairman with J. Landis (Lanny) Martin from July 2011 to January 2013. He guided the museum through major milestones, most notably the planning, financing and construction of the Daniel Libeskind-designed Frederic C. Hamilton Building, which opened in October 2006. Hamilton led two major endowment campaigns for the DAM during his tenure, growing those assets to more than $100 million. He also helped lead the fundraising effort to complete the $110 million expansion project. In recognition of his long-time support, the museum named its 146,000-square-foot expansion the Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Hamilton is a member of the Trustees Council of the National Gallery of Art, an alumni member of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Directors, on the Board of Trustees of the Denver Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Graland Country Day School and President of the Graland Country Day School Foundation Board.

He established endowed chairs in endocrinology, macular degeneration and skin cancer research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and created endowments at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College for research and for clinical scholars.

Hamilton's past corporate directorships include Chairman, Tejas Gas Corporation; Director, BHP Petroleum; Celanese Corporation; First National Bancorporation; Gates Learjet; IntraWest Financial Corporation; ITT Corporation; International Mining Corporation; United States Tmst Co.; Norwest Corporation; Permian Corporation; Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken International Corporation; United Banks of Colorado and Volvo International Board.

Notable endowments

• 2003 Frederic C Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum
• Endocrinology Chair at the University of Colorado at Denver.
• Newman Center, Denver University.
• Ritchie Center, Denver University.
• American Federation of Arts
• Denver Children's Hospital