High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Robert Orville Anderson (April 13, 1917 - December 2, 2007) was an American business leader, legendary wildcatter and philanthropist who founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (since 2000 part of BP) through the 1966 merger of the Atlantic and Richfield oil companies and was Arco's chairman for two decades. Anderson used his clout to support an array of major cultural organizations, from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to Harper's Magazine. He died December 2, 2007 at his home in Roswell, New Mexico.