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'''John Roderick MacArthur''' ([[December 21]], [[1920]]-December 1984) was a U.S. businessman and philanthropist. The J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, a philanthropic organization interested in Civil Liberties in the United States, and the MacArthur Justice Center at the Northwestern University School of Law[http://www.law.northwestern.edu/macarthur] are named after him. He is the son of [[John D. MacArthur]] who established the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]].
==Biography==
J. Roderick MacArthur, known as Rod MacArthur, was born [[December 21]], [[1920]] to the former Louise Ingals and John D. MacArthur. The couple also had a daughter, Virginia MacArthur. In 1926 John D. MacArthur traveled to [[Mexico]] to divorce and two years later married [[Catherine T. MacArthur|Catherine T. Hyland]].
Rod MacArthur attended [[Rollins College]] in [[Florida]] and worked as a stringer for the [[Associated Press]] in [[Mexico]]. During [[World War II]] he joined the [[AFS Intercultural Programs|American Field Service]], serving with the [[French Army]] in the ambulance corp., and he participated in the campaign that liberated [[France]].
Rod MacArthur married Christiane L’Entendart in Paris in 1947 and had a daughter and two sons, one of them the publisher and president of ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', [[John R. MacArthur|John R. “Rick” MacArthur]].
Rod Macarthur died [[December 15]], [[1984]] at age 63 from [[pancreatic cancer]]. He is buried in [[Graceland Cemetery]] in Chicago. His epitaph, written in English using Greek letters, is ''ονε φοοτ ιν φαιριελανδ'' ("[[Eleanor Farjeon|one foot in fairyland]]").
==Philanthropic endeavors==
Father and son reconciled before John D. MacArthur died on [[January 6]], [[1978]], (also of pancreatic cancer, the disease that would kill his son 6 years later) and he named Rod MacArthur to the board of his [[foundation (charity)|foundation]] . At that point, John D. MacArthur was worth in excess of $1 billion and was reportedly one of the three richest men in the United States. John D. MacArthur left ninety-two percent of his estate to begin the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]]. The composition of the Foundation’s first Board of Director’s, per John D. MacArthur’s will, included J. Roderick MacArthur, [[Catherine T. MacArthur]] (his second wife), three officers of [[Bankers Life and Casualty]], and Radio Commentator [[Paul Harvey]]. John D. MacArthur grandson, and Rod MacArthur’s son, [[John R. MacArthur|John R. “Rick” MacArthur]] has charged publicly:
“''The idea behind the foundation was as a tax dodge that he thought would allow his business executives to run his company forever. He clearly didn't understand the tax laws''."[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20040523/ai_n12547635/pg_1]
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