Henry Babson
Henry Babson | |
---|---|
Born | Massachusetts, United States | December 1, 1875
Died | October 1970 Illinois, United States | (aged 94)
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Businessman |
Known for | Investor, Arabian horse breeder |
Henry B. Babson (December 1, 1875 – October, 1970) was an American
Though Babson himself was not an inventor, he became wealthy by selling innovative products, particularly the
Early life and professional career
Babson was the son of Augustus "Gus" Babson and Laura Margaret (Davis). He was born in Massachusetts in 1875 and grew up in Seward County, Nebraska.[4]
He made the acquaintance of fellow Nebraskan Leon Douglass, who at the time worked for the Nebraska Phonograph Company. Douglass was an inventor and patented a number of improvements to the phonograph and was a pioneer in the development of color technology for film. After moving to Chicago, Babson first worked at the World's Fair for $1 a day,[2] possibly in Douglass' slot phonograph concession (Douglass had invented a coin-slot attachment for the phonograph, creating the immediate predecessor to the jukebox). He then obtained work from Douglass, who by then had become a manager of the Chicago Central Phonograph Company, which was part of the Thomas Edison-affiliated North American Phonograph Company, distributor for the Edison Phonograph. Babson's starting salary was $15 a week and he was a cashier.[1] For a brief time, at Douglass' direction, he also worked in San Francisco, running a slot phonograph concession and a parlor, which he then sold in 1895, at Douglass' direction, to Peter Bacigalupi, a pioneer of early music recordings, and the business became known as "Edison's Kinetoscope, Phonograph and Graphophone Arcade."[1]
Babson returned to Chicago and continued to rise in the sound recording sales industry. Beginning in 1903, he traveled worldwide, including China, Russia, the Far East and Europe as a representative for the
Babson Farm
Babson obtained Arabian horses from England, Poland, and most notably, Egypt. He began to travel in search of the finest quality Arabian horses in 1930, traveling to England, France, and Spain, but was unable to purchase horses of the quality he sought.
The most notable of Babson's imports was the
By the early 1960s, Babson decided to concentrate his breeding program solely on the subgroup of Arabian bloodstock now known as "Babson Egyptian"
Babson breeding today
Babson's most enduring legacy was his contribution to the Arabian horse breed. Babson bloodlines are noted for producing Arabian horses of substance with calm, steady, trainable dispositions, used for
Approximately 230 Arabian horses today are pure, direct descendants of the Babson Egyptian imports and are referred to as "straight Babson" or "Babson Egyptian" horses.[7] However, Arabians with "Babson-influenced" bloodlines number in the thousands, both in what are known as "Domestic" pedigrees (Arabians with ancestors imported to the United States prior to 1944) and "Straight Egyptian" pedigrees (Arabians with ancestors all tracing to Egyptian bloodstock).[2] Both the "straight Babson" group and the "Babson-influenced" group of bloodlines have preservation breeders working to preserve the Babson influence.
References
- ^ a b c Gracyk, Tim. "Leon F. Douglass: Inventor and Victor's First Vice-President" web site accessed July 6, 2007 at http://www.gracyk.com/leon.shtml Archived 2018-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g Schofler, Patti. "Babson Arabians." Modern Arabian Horse, June/July 2007, pp. 83–86.
- ^ a b "The Victor Talking Machine Company" The David Sarnoff Library Web site accessed July 6, 2007 at http://www.davidsarnoff.org/vtm-chapter1.html
- ^ a b Mayfield, M. Kent. "Henry B. Babson – A Tribute." Arabian Horse World, July, 2007, pp. AK 3–4, 26
- ^ "History of the Surge Bucket Milker 1922–1999." Web site accessed July 6, 2007 at http://surgemilker.com/
- ^ "Sullivan and Elmslie Want You". 4 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Magid, Arlene. "The Babson Influence in the Arabian Show Ring." Arabian Horse World, July 2007, pp. AK 7–20
- ^ http://www.allbreedpedigree.com Pedigrees of Khemosabi, Fadheilan, Fa-Serr and Fadl
External links