Harvey Samuel Firestone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harvey Firestone

Born December 20, 1868(1868-12-20)
Columbiana, Ohio, U.S.
Died February 7, 1938 (aged 69)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Spouse Idabelle Smith Firestone
Children Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. (1898-1973)
Russell Allen Firestone (1901-1951)
Leonard Firestone (1907-1996)
Raymond Christy Firestone (1908-1994)
Roger Stanley Firestone (1912-1970)

Harvey Samuel Firestone (December 20, 1868 – February 7, 1938) was the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires and an important contributor to North American economic growth in the 20th century.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Firestone was born in his family's farm house on December 20, 1868 in the small town of Columbiana, Ohio, the second of three children, to Benjamin Firestone, a farmer, and A. Catherine Flickinger. The Firestone ancestors were German immigrants named Feuerstein.[1] After graduating from Columbiana High School, Firestone worked for the Columbus Buggy Company in Columbus, Ohio before starting his own company in 1890, making rubber tires for carriages. In 1895 he married Idabelle Smith. They had six children: Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., Russell Allen Firestone, Leonard Firestone, Raymond Firestone, Roger Stanley Firestone, and Elizabeth Firestone. In 1904 Firestone joined Henry Ford to make rubber tires for the newly popular automobiles. The Ford-Firestone corporate marriage was later cemented when Henry's grandson William Clay Ford wed Martha Firestone, granddaughter of Harvey, who then became parents of current Ford Motor Company Chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr. The farmhouse where Firestone was born is now located in Greenfield Village (Dearborn, MI), a 90-acre historical site founded by Henry Ford. Firestone was concerned both with the manufacture of tires and with securing supplies of rubber from trees: At one point, the company had a rubber plantation in Liberia that covered more than 4,000 square kilometers (1 million acres). During World War II the company was called on by the U.S. Government to make artillery shells, aluminum kegs for food transport and other rubberized military products.

[edit] Slave Labor and Human Rights Allegations

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone- the fathers of modernity. Ft. Myers, Florida, February 11, 1929.
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone- the fathers of modernity. Ft. Myers, Florida, February 11, 1929.

Firestone's company, since its first foray into Africa has drawn harsh criticism for employing slave labor and exploiting workers. As recently as 2005 federal and international lawsuits tire have accused Firestone of employing slave labor and child labor on plantations in Liberia and Southeast Asia. One lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, sought class action on behalf of 12 adult workers and 23 children who worked and lived on the "Firestone Plantation" in Harbel, Liberia. The suit claimed the workers are trapped in a "gulag of misery" and forced to work under conditions that have changed little since the plantation was founded in 1926.

The company's response was : "Firestone Liberia has a courageous and hard working leadership team comprised primarily of Liberians who are working to create hope and opportunity for the people of the Harbel community," the company said in a statement.

[edit] Death

In 1938, Firestone died peacefully at his vacation home in Miami Beach, Florida at the age of 69. [2]

[edit] The Millionaires Club

Firestone, Ford and Thomas Edison were generally considered the three leaders in American industry at the time, and often worked and vacationed together. All three were part of a very exclusive group titled "The Millionaires Club" . This was a true gentlemen’s club where one would call another in the appropriate city and ask him to purchase a building or other items for them without so much as a handshake, merely on his word.

[edit] Honors

The main library of Princeton University is named Firestone Library in his honor. It is among the largest university libraries in the world. In 1973, Firestone was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio is named in his honor. He also has a memorial there.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Famous German-Americans - Part 2: D-E-F
  2. ^ "Harvey Firestone is Dead in Florida. Rubber Manufacturer Dies in Sleep at His Miami Beach Estate. He Was 69.", New York Times, February 8, 1938, Tuesday. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "Harvey S. Firestone, a farm boy who built one of the largest rubber businesses in the world, died of a coronary thrombosis as he slept early today in the great mansion of Harbel Villa, an ocean-front estate he acquired in 1924. He was 69 years old." 

[edit] External links