William Coffin Coleman

For Warren C. Coleman, the African-American businessman, see Coleman Manufacturing Company.
William Coffin Coleman
Born October 20, 1870
Chatham, New York, USA
Died November 2, 1957 (aged 87)
Wichita, Kansas, USA
Cause of death
 Acute myocardial infarction[1]
Resting place
 Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas
37°43′30″N 97°17′49″W / 37.725°N 97.297°W
Education Emporia State University
Known for Founder of Coleman Company

William Coffin Coleman (May 21, 1870 – November 2, 1957) was the founder of the Coleman Company, a maker of camping equipment, and mayor of Wichita in 1923–1924.

Biography

Coleman was born in Chatham, New York in 1870.[1] His parents moved the family to Labette County, Kansas in 1871, and in 1881 his father died. William then worked as a salesman.[2]

Coleman with two of his employees standing in front of a Baptist railroad chapel car in Wichita, Kansas (1911).

While he was selling typewriters in Alabama he saw a lantern that used gasoline instead of kerosene. He then switched his sales to lanterns. He then began to craft his own lantern, which he marketed as the Coleman Arc Lamp. In 1901 Coleman married Fanny Sheldon and they moved to Wichita, Kansas. They had two children Sheldon Coleman and Clarence Coleman.[1] The business was now called the Coleman Lamp and Stove Company.[2] He was mayor of Wichita in 1923 and 1924.[1]

Coleman died in 1957 from a heart attack.[1] He is buried in Old Mission Mausoleum, Wichita, Kansas.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "W.C. Coleman, 87, Stove Maker, Dies. Manufacturer of Utensil Used by G.I.'s Founded Company in Wichita". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 3, 1957. Retrieved 2007-07-21. William Coffin Coleman, maker of gasoline lamps and G.I. pocket stoves known the world over, died of a heart attack today. His age was 87.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "William Coffin Coleman". Kansas State Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  3. ↑ William Coffin Coleman at Find a Grave