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Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century

 
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Roy L. Ash
Litton Industries, 1961–1972
Frank C. Ball
Ball Brothers Company, 1887–1943
Ohio C. Barber
Diamond Match Company, 1888–1909
Henry H. Benedict
Remington Typewriter Company, 1895–1913
Robert F. Bensinger
Brunswick, 1930–1963
John D. Biggers
Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company, 1930–1953
Harold Boeschenstein
Owens-Corning Fiberglass Company, 1938–1963
Fred J. Borch
General Electric Company, 1963–1972
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company, 1864–1911
Stephen F. Briggs
Outboard Motors Corporation, 1929–1963
Herbert P. Buetow
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1953–1963
Arde Bulova
Bulova Watch Company, 1930–1958
Robert N. Burt
FMC Corporation, 1991–2001
Willis H. Carrier
Carrier Corporation, 1914–1948
Charles A. Coffin
General Electric Company, 1892–1913
Carle C. Conway
Continental Can Company, 1926–1959
Ralph J. Cordiner
General Electric Company, 1950–1963
Charles L. Coughlin
Briggs & Stratton Corporation, 1935–1970
Richard T. Crane
Crane Company, 1859–1912
Richard T. Crane, Jr.
Crane Company, 1914–1931
Bert S. Cross
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1963–1969
Max De Pree
Herman Miller, 1980–1987
Alonzo G. Decker, Jr.
Black & Decker Corporation, 1964–1975
Alfred B. Dick
A. B. Dick and Company, 1883–1934
Alfred B. Dick Jr.
A. B. Dick and Company, 1934–1947
George Eastman
Eastman Kodak Company, 1881–1923
Louis K. Eilers
Eastman Kodak Company, 1967–1972
Ole Evinrude
Outboard Motors Corporation, 1920–1928
Lothar W. Faber
Eberhard-Faber Company, 1898–1943
William A. Fairburn
Diamond Match Company, 1915–1947
Otto H. Falk
Allis-Chalmers Company, 1913–1932
Walter A. Fallon
Eastman Kodak Company, 1972–1983
Herman G. Fisher
Fisher-Price Toy Company, 1930–1966
Frank M. Freimann
Magnavox Company, 1950–1967
Stanley C. Gault
Rubbermaid, 1980–1991
Stephen D. Hassenfeld
Hasbro Toys, 1979–1989
Henry F. Henderson, Jr.
Henderson (H. F.) Industries, 1952–Present
Ray W. Herrick
Tecumseh Products, 1930–1972
Raymond H. Herzog
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1975–1979
E. G. Higdon
Maytag Corporation, 1962–1973
Andrew J. Higgins
Higgins Industries, 1930–1952
Herbert W. Hoover
Hoover Company, 1922–1954
Herbert W. Hoover, Jr.
Hoover Company, 1954–1966
Alanson B. Houghton
Corning Glass Company, 1910–1930
Amory Houghton
Corning Glass Company, 1930–1960
Amory Houghton, Jr.
Corning Glass Company, 1964–1982
George A. Hughes
Hughes Electric Heating Company, 1908–1940
Jon M. Huntsman
Huntsman Corporation, 1970–2000
Peter F. Hurst
Aeroquip Corporation, 1945–1969
William Irrgang
Lincoln Electric Company, 1954–1986
Allen F. Jacobson
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1986–1991
Eldridge R. Johnson
Victor Talking Machine Company, 1901–1927
Robert H. Johnson
Ingersoll-Rand Company, 1955–1966
Reginald H. Jones
General Electric Company, 1972–1981
Mitchell P. Kartalia
Square D Company, 1968–1983
Daniel C. Keefe
Ingersoll-Rand Company, 1936–1954
Arthur A. Kent
Atwater Kent Company, 1902–1936
Charles F. Knight
Emerson Electric Company, 1973–2000
Herbert V. Kohler
Kohler Company, 1937–1968
Walter J. Kohler
Kohler Company, 1905–1937
Daniel J. Krumm
Maytag Corporation, 1974–1992
Edwin H. Land
Polaroid Corporation, 1937–1980
George S. Lannom, Jr.
Lannom Manufacturing Company, 1912–1952
Lewis W. Lehr
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1980–1986
Edmund D. Libbey
Owens Bottle Company, 1903–1925
James F. Lincoln
Lincoln Electric Company, 1928–1954
James J. Ling
Ling-Temco-Vought, 1946–1970
Royal Little
Textron, 1923–1960
Morton L. Mandel
Premier Industrial Corporation, 1958–1996
Alex Manoogian
Masco Corporation, 1929–1985
Elmer H. Maytag
Maytag Corporation, 1926–1940
Frederick L. Maytag
Maytag Corporation, 1909–1921
Frederick L. Maytag II
Maytag Corporation, 1940–1960
C. Peter McColough
Xerox Corporation, 1971–1985
William L. McKnight
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1929–1949
Joseph I. Miller
Cummins Engine Company, 1947–1977
John D. Nichols
Illinois Tool Works, 1982–1995
George S. Parker
Parker Brothers, 1901–1933
Eugene M. Patterson
American Machine and Foundry Company, 1941–1962
Rufus L. Patterson
American Machine and Foundry Company, 1900–1941
Wallace R. Persons
Emerson Electric Company, 1954–1973
LeRoy A. Petersen
Otis Elevator Company, 1945–1966
John Pitcairn
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, 1897–1905
Robert A. Pritzker
Marmon Group, 1953–Present
James H. Rand, Jr.
Remington-Rand Company, 1925–1955
William B. Rayburn
Snap-On, 1984–1988
Earl H. Richardson
Hotpoint Electric Heating Company, 1904–1918
Cedric H. Rieman
Gardner-Denver Company, 1963–1972
Clarence W. Seamans
Union Typewriter Company, 1893–1910
Vincent R. Shiely
Briggs & Stratton Corporation, 1970–1977
Henry E. Singleton
Teledyne, 1960–1986
Elwyn L. Smith
Smith-Corona-Marchant Corporation, 1951–1960
Hurlburt W. Smith
Smith-Corona (L. C.) Typewriter Company, 1924–1933
Wilbert L. Smith
Smith-Corona (L. C.) Typewriter Company, 1910–1924
Elmer A. Sperry
Sperry Gyroscope Company, 1910–1929
Charles H. Steinway
Steinway and Sons, 1896–1919
Henry Z. Steinway
Steinway and Sons, 1957–1980
Theodore E. Steinway
Steinway and Sons, 1919–1957
Edward R. Stettinius
Diamond Match Company, 1909–1915
Gerard Swope
General Electric Company, 1922–1939
Seth E. Thomas, Jr.
Seth Thomas Clock Company, 1919–1931
Charles B. (Tex) Thornton
Litton Industries, 1953–1961
Henry R. Towne
Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company, 1868–1916
John T. Underwood
Underwood Typewriter Company, 1903–1927
Michael A. Volkema
Herman Miller, 1995–Present
John F. Welch, Jr.
General Electric Company, 1981–2001
George Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company, 1885–1911
Charles Edward Wilson
General Electric Company, 1940–1950
Clarence M. Woolley
American Radiator Company, 1902–1924
Horace C. Wright
Sunbeam Corporation, 1935–1961
Joseph S. Wright
Zenith Radio Corporation, 1959–1976
Load More

THE 20th CENTURY ZEITGEIST

Six contextual factors deeply influenced the opportunities available to 20th century business leaders:

  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government
  • Labor
  • Global

the 20th Century Zeitgeist

Demographics
  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government Intervention
  • Labor
  • Global Events
Influence: High
190019

8.8 million immigrants arrive throughout decade

Cities expand

Population grows from 76 to 92 million

Rural Free Delivery routes added

Influence: Medium
10191019

Anti-immigration sentiment peaks during WWI

Great Migration begins as African-Americans relocate from rural South to northern cities

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Population of urban centers overtakes that of rural communities

Tight immigration restrictions

Increase in divorce rates

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Westward migration of midwestern farmers and laborers for employment and better climate

Massive dust storms uproot millions

Smallest ten-year increase in population: 123-132 million

Influence: Medium-High
40194019

Baby boom begins

Suburbs start to form

Influence: High
50195019

Medical advances extend life expectancy

More people now live in suburbs than cities

Population soars to 179 million

largest ten-year increase

Influence: High
60196019

Baby boom tapers off

Emigration from Asia and Latin America surges

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Urban blight

Rust Belt

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Population migrates to West and Southwest

Influence: High
901990

Immigration tops 9 million (largest number since first decade)

Baby boomers age

Hispanics become fastest-growing minority

Population grows from 250 million to 281 million

Influence: Medium-High
190019

Model T

Plastic

Safety razor

Widespread use of steam engine, electricity, and openhearth furnace allows businesses to expand nationwide

Influence: Medium
10191019

First widespread use of auto assembly line

Self-starter increases popularity of automobile

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

KDKA, first radio station

First talking movie,

Influence: Medium
30193019

Advances in aviation

Nylon

Fiberglass

Instant photography

Air-conditioning begins to realize commercial potential

Influence: High
40194019

Planes and ships built in less than a day for the war effort

Atomic bomb

ENIAC computer

Penicillin used extensively to treat soldiers' infections

Synthetic rubberx

Influence: High
50195019

Television sales expand dramatically

Transistors used in portable radios and calculators

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Man walks on the moon

Color TV market grows

Microchips expand possibilities in electronics industry

Integrated circuit boards replace transistor technology

First ATM installed

Influence: Medium
70197019

Beginning of biotech industry

Fiber-optic wire

Pong (first video game)

UPC bar code

Supercomputer

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Software industry booms

PC use expands in scale and scope

CAD/CAM revolutionizes manufacturing

Space shuttle

Influence: Medium-High
901990

Boom in connectivity

Cloning, stem cell research

DVDs

Influence: Medium
190019

Progressivism

The Jungle sparks food and work safety movement

Influence: Low
10191019

Sedition Act

Prohibition begins

Red Scare

Race riots

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Social divisions arise between rural and urban areas

Women's suffrage

Harlem Renaissance

Rampant bootlegging and organized crime

Influence: Medium
30193019

Escapism in radio serials

Prohibition repealed

Golden age of movies

Influence: Medium-Low
40194019

Patriotism soars

GI Bill

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Social conformity

McCarthyism

Membership in organized religion soars

Brown v. Board of Education desegregated public schools>

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Civil rights movement gain strength

Antiwar sentiment divides electorate

FDA approves oral contraceptive pill

Influence: High
70197019

National Organization for Women mobilizes for Equal Rights Amendment

Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion

Social discord continues over Vietnam War and civil rights

Watergate scandal undermines faith in authority

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Moral Majority

"Me" generation

Focus on training and fitness

Income gap widens dramatically

AIDS

Influence: High
901990

Internet "irrational exuberance"

Antigovernment sentiment: Waco standoff; Oklahoma City bombing

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

First significant enforcement of Sherman Antitrust Act

Pure Food and Drug Act; breakup of beef trust

Excise Tax imposed on corporations

Tariff Act forces corporations to open their books for government inspection

Influence: High
10191019

Breakup of Standard Oil and American Tobacco

Clayton Antitrust Act

Federal Reserve Act

First Federal-Aid Highway Act

Federal Trade Commission established

Personal income tax reinstituted

Influence: Low
20192019

U.S. Steel and Alcoa withstand antitrust accusations

Personal and corporate tax rates cut

Airmail service starts

Influence: High
30193019

The New Deal

Commercial and investment banking separated

Reconstruction Finance Corp. created to combat bank and business failures

Introduction of Federal Deposit Insurance

SEC established

Federal regulations prohibit false advertising

Influence: Low
40194019

Military spending explodes

Graduated income tax, Victory Tax adopted to fund war effort

Rationing

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Military spending shifts to nuclear deterrents

Small Business Administration created

Influence: Medium
60196019

Great Society

Consumer and environmental protection movements strengthen

Vehicle Safety Act and Highway Safety Act

Closing merger loophole opens door for conglomerate business model

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Deregulation of oil and airline industries

New energy policies and programs

Stagflation cripples economy

Environmental protection weakened

Price controls

Influence: Low
80198019

Reaganomics

Heavy defense and deficit spending

Savings and Loan bailout

Chrysler bailout

Breakup of AT&T

Influence: Medium-Low
901990

Family and Medical Leave Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

Welfare reform

Antitrust action initiated against Microsoft

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

Fewer than 500,000 union members

Department of Commerce and Labor created

Influence: Medium
10191019

Ford doubles factory wages and shortens workday

Labor Secretary position created

Worker shortage: Unions double membership and increase wages

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Union membership declines sharply

Minimum wage and maximum working hour legislation overturned

Influence: High
30193019

Unemployment peaks at 25%

Unions surge, adding 7 million members in a single year

Sit-down strikes at GM and other auto makers

Government work programs launched: CCC, PWA, WPA

CIO union created

NLRB created

Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage

Influence: Low
40194019

Rosie the Riveter

Postwar strikes

Productivity surge

Government backlash against postwar union movement

Influence: Medium
50195019

The Organization Man

Union membership peaks

The AFL merges with the CIO: 15 million members

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Factory automation slashes jobs

Service industry outpaces growth in manufacturing

Civil Rights Act

Equal Pay Act

Unions concentrated in big businesses

Formation of United Farm Workers union

Influence: Medium
70197019

Wage controls

OSHA created

Service economy expands

Women enter the workforce in large numbers

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Air traffic controllers' union dismantled

Union representation drops

Information technology redistributes job functions

Influence: Low
901990

Reengineering

Record high employment

Service sector outpaces manufacturing in new job creation

Influence: Low
190019

U.S. begins construction of Panama Canal

Influence: High
10191019

War Industries Board coordinates activities among labor, government, and business for WWI

Cost-plus contracts introduced

Protectionist tariffs reduced

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Isolationism

U.S. restores high tariffs

U.S. pushes for debt recovery

Allied nations seek war reparations from Axis powers

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Increased tariff protection through Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Continued isolationism

Influence: High
40194019

War Production Board readies nation for WWII

U.S. becomes a global power

Creation of IMF and World Bank

Marshall Plan

Cold war begins

Influence: Medium-High
50195019

Cold war escalates

Korean War forces another mobilization effort

Influence: High
60196019

Cold war continues to build

Bay of Pigs invasion; Cuban Missile Crisis

Vietnam War escalates

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

OPEC oil crisis

Vietnam War ends

Iran hostage crisis

Imports outpace exports

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Berlin wall falls

End of cold war

Iran-Contra Affair

Influence: High
901990

USSR dismantled; ethnic conflicts exposed

Gulf War: real-time TV coverage

Asian financial crisis

NAFTA enacted

European Union forms

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