Robert Hale Ives Goddard

Robert Hale Ives Goddard (September 21, 1837 – April 22, 1916) was a prominent banker, industrialist, U.S. Army officer, state senator and philanthropist. Early life He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 21, 1837. He was a son of William Giles Goddard and Charlotte Rhoda (née Ives) Goddard. Among his siblings was brother, William Goddard, who also served in the Civil War as a major in the 1st Rhode Island Infantry and was breveted to the rank of colonel for meritorious service during the war. His maternal grandfather, Thomas Poynton Ives, was a prominent merchant who founded Brown & Ives with his brother-in-law, Nicholas Brown Jr. He graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1858. Career Goddard served with distinction in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted as a private in the 1st Rhode Island Detached Militia (aka. 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry) on April 17, 1861, and was mustered out at the end of the regiment's term of service on August 2, 1861.