Charles M. Schwab
Charles M. Schwab | |
---|---|
United States Steel Corporation President and chairman of Bethlehem Steel | |
Spouse |
Emma Eurana Dinkey
(m. 1883; died 1939) |
Children | 1 |
Signature | |
Charles Michael Schwab (February 18, 1862 – September 18, 1939) was an American
Early life and education
Schwab was born in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 18, 1862, the son of Pauline (née Farabaugh) and John Anthony Schwab.[1][2] All four of his grandparents were Roman Catholic immigrants from Germany.[2]
Schwab was raised in Loretto, Pennsylvania, which he considered his hometown. His father, John, operated a livery stable in Loretto and also served as a mail-carrier.[3]
Schwab graduated from Saint Francis University in Loretto in 1877.[4]
Career
Carnegie Steel
Schwab began his career as an engineer in Andrew Carnegie's steelworks, starting as a stake-driver in the engineering corps of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works and Furnaces in Braddock, Pennsylvania. He was promoted often, including to the positions of general superintendent of Homestead Works in 1887, and general superintendent of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works in 1890.[5] In 1897, at only 35 years of age, he became president of the Carnegie Steel Company.
In 1901, he helped negotiate the secret sale of Carnegie Steel to a group of New York City–based financiers, led by
Bethlehem Steel
In 1903, after several clashes with Morgan and fellow US Steel executive
Under Schwab's leadership and that of
In 1908, Bethlehem Steel began making the beam, which revolutionized building construction and contributed to the age of the
In 1911, Bethlehem Steel formed a company soccer team known as
During the first years of
On April 16, 1918, Schwab became director general of Emergency Fleet Corporation, a board granted by Congress with master authority over all shipbuilding in the United States. He was appointed over Charles Piez, the former general manager of the corporation. President Wilson had specifically asked Schwab to assume this responsibility. Schwab's biggest change to the shipbuilding effort was to abandon the cost plus profit contracting system that had been in place up to that time and begin issuing fixed-price contracts.[13] After America's entry into the war, he was accused of profiteering but was later acquitted.
Schwab was considered to be a risk taker and was highly controversial;
His innovative ways of dealing with his staff are given a mention in Dale Carnegie's most famous work, How to Win Friends and Influence People, published in 1936. In 1928, Schwab was awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal for "outstanding services to the steel industry". In 1932, he was awarded the Melchett Medal by the British Institute of Fuel.[14] In 1982, Schwab was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame. In 2011, Schwab was inducted into the inaugural class of the American Metal Market Hall of Fame for his lifelong work in the U.S. steel industry.[15]
Personal life
Schwab married Emma Eurana Dinkey (1859–1939) on May 1, 1883. Mrs. Schwab lived in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, and donated $85,000 to build a school there.[16]
Schwab eventually became very wealthy. He moved to New York City's
Schwab also owned a 44-room summer estate on 1,000 acres (4 km2) in
The gardens feature a cascading fountain modeled after features at Versailles and include sculptures by Paul Manship, known for the Prometheus sculpture at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.
Schwab became notorious for his "fast lane" lifestyle including opulent parties, high-stakes gambling, and a string of extramarital affairs producing at least one child out of wedlock. The affairs and the out-of-wedlock child soured his relationship with his wife. He became an international celebrity when he "broke the bank" at Monte Carlo, and traveled in a $100,000 private rail car named "Loretto".[20] Even before the Great Depression, he had already spent most of his fortune, estimated at between $25 million and $40 million. Adjusted for inflation in the first decade of the 21st century, that equates to between $500 million and $800 million.
The
A bust-length portrait of Schwab painted in 1903 by Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947) was formerly in the Jessica Dragonette Collection at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming at Laramie, but has been donated to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Müller-Ury also painted his nephew and namesake Charles M. Schwab, son of his brother Joseph, as a boy in a sailor suit around the same date.[21]
Death
Schwab's wife died on January 12, 1939.
See also
- List of covers of Time magazine (1920s): November 22, 1926
References
- ^ "Local history including Men of Bethlehem at the Bethlehem Area Public Library". Bapl.org. April 16, 1918. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ a b [1] Archived May 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- OCLC 1260340723.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "History, Mission, Goals, Organization" (PDF). francis.edu. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Charles M. Schwab Correspondence Finding Aid, 1891, AIS.1994.02, Archives Services Center, University of Pittsburgh.
- ISBN 0-8021-3829-2.
- ^ Ibid. at 85.
- ISBN 9780822959069.
- ^ "Forging America:The History of Bethlehem Steel - Chapter 5 - The Grace Period". The Morning Call. 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Schwab Corners Football Stars - Steel Man Gathers High-Class Soccer Team to Represent Bethlehem, Penn." The New York Times, August 2, 1914.
- ^ "Makes Record in Soccer: Bethlehem Sets Mark by Winning Double Championship". The New York Times, July 23, 1916.
- ^ Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company. .
- ^ "Schwab Placed in Full Control of Shipbuilding". The New York Times. April 17, 1918. p. 1.
- ^ Melchett Medal awarded to Charles M Schwab JTA archive 21 October 1932 retrieved 21 January 2015
- ^ "Hall of Fame Inaugural Class - Charles Schwab". amm.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Laylo, Bob (December 16, 1990). "Weatherly Unsure Of Portrait's Fate". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- ^ "Charles M. Schwab and his mansion". New York Social Diary. November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
- ^ "History & Traditions: A Brief History of Saint Francis University". Saint Francis University.
- ^ "Immergrun Golf Course | Saint Francis University". www.francis.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ North Carolina Transportation Museum: Rail Equipment Archived June 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 1
- ^ Town & Country, August 22, 1903, 'A Successful Portrait Painter', by S. E. L[eisha], p.21 (reproduced)
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- James H. Bridge, 1903. The Inside History of the Carnegie Steel Company.
- Arundel Cotter, 1916. The Story of Bethlehem Steel.
- Arundel Cotter, 1921. United States Steel: A Corporation with a Soul.
- Burton W. Folsom, Jr., The Myth of the Robber Barons. Young America.
- Louis M. Hacker, 1968. The World of Andrew Carnegie.
- Burton J. Hendrick, 1969. The Life of Andrew Carnegie, 2 vols. 1st ed., 1932.
- Hessen, Robert, 1990. Steel titan: the life of Charles M. Schwab, Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press.
- Hessen, Robert. (1971) "The Admiralty's American Ally" History Today. December 1971, Vol. 21 Issue 12, p864-869; sales to Britain in World War I
- Stewart H. Holbrook, 1953. Age of the Moguls.
- Elbert H. Gary.
- Joseph Frazier Wall, 1970. Andrew Carnegie.
External links
- Texts on Wikisource:
- . The Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1918.
- "Schwab, Charles M.". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
- "Schwab, Charles Michael". Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). 1922.
- Charles M. Schwab. Biography at Explore Pennsylvania History (archived).
- Schwab biography at the Bethlehem website
- Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture
- Loretto Railcar Restoration
- Charles M. Schwab Correspondence, Finding Aid for Correspondence Collection, 1891, AIS.1994.02, Archives Services Center], University of Pittsburgh
- Newspaper clippings about Charles M. Schwab in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW