Charles Edward Wilson (businessman)
Charles Wilson | |
---|---|
Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization | |
In office December 16, 1950 – March 31, 1952 | |
President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | John R. Steelman (Acting) |
Chairman of the President's Committee on Civil Rights | |
In office December 5, 1946 – December 1947 | |
President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Committee established |
Succeeded by | Committee disbanded |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Edward Wilson November 18, 1886 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | January 3, 1972 Bronxville, New York, U.S. | (aged 85)
Political party | Democratic |
Charles Edward Wilson (November 18, 1886 – January 3, 1972) was a CEO of General Electric.[1][2][3]
Early life
Wilson left school at the age of 12 to work as a stock boy at the Sprague Electrical Works, which was acquired by the General Electric Company.[4] He took night classes to graduate from high school, and he worked his way up to the position of president of the corporation in 1939.
Public service
During
General Electric career
After returning to General Electric in 1945, Wilson began an anti-union campaign.
Later life
Wilson returned to General Electric briefly, before becoming chairman of the board of
Personal life
Wilson and his wife adopted their daughter, Margaret Wilson, from an orphanage when she was 18 years old. Margaret later married Hugh Pierce and they had one son,[4] Charles Edward Wilson Pierce, named for his grandfather and father. Charles Wilson died in Westchester County, New York, in 1972, and his remains are interred in a private mausoleum in the Kensico Cemetery.
Nickname
He was nicknamed "Electric Charlie" to avoid being confused with
References
- ^ "Kingsport News from Kingsport, Tennessee on August 21". Kingsport News.
This was Electric Charlie, president of General Electric
- ^ "GE History - Past Leaders". www.ge.com. December 7, 2012.
- ^ "Justice For 'Engine Charlie'". Newsweek. February 19, 1995.
- ^ a b c d e "Charles E. Wilson of G.E. Dies; Mobilized Industry in 2 Wars". The New York Times. January 4, 1972.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
- ^ "Charles Edward Wilson: Leadership". Harvard Business School.
anti-union campaign at GE .. 'take it or leave it'
- Pierpaoli, Paul G., Jr. Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999.
- Sandler, Stanley (editor), "The Korean War: An Encyclopedia", Garland, 1995, pages 357 - 58.