Historical Campus Tour

Danforth Campus

Thomas G. Rutledge House

Built in 1963, Rutledge House was dedicated in 1965. The house contains suites for sophmore, junior, and senior students. Each suite features a common room, bathroom, and balcony. On the ground floor, there is a dance studio where students practice a variety of styles of dance.

Thomas G. Rutledge was born in October of 1917 and received his B.A. from Yale University in 1940. For the following two years, he work in the sales, advertising, and production department of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. During World War II, he served as a carrier-based aircraft pilot for the U.S. Navy, and enrolled in the Washington University Law School upon leaving the Navy. He received his LL. B in 1948 and joined the lawfirm of Lashly, Lashly, and Miller.

In 1952, he began work for McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and was Vice-President of the Board of Directors by 1959. In 1962, after a series of promotions, he became Vice-President and General Council. A year later he died in an automobile accident while driving to work. He was a member of the Missouri Historical Society, the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, the St. Louis Bar Association, American Bar Association, and the Washington University Planning and Development Council.

Following Rutledge's death, James S. McDonnell, Chairman of the Board of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and President of the Board of Directors of Washington University, donated one million dollars, part of which was in honor of his businesss associate, Thomas Rutledge.