Cyrus S. Eaton
Cyrus Eaton | |
---|---|
Born | Cyrus Stephen Eaton December 27, 1883 Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Died | May 9, 1979 Northfield, Ohio, US; buried: Deep Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada | (aged 95)
Nationality | Canadian, Naturalized American in 1913[1] |
Alma mater | McMaster University |
Occupation | Businessman |
Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned 70 years.[2][3]
For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the American Midwest, and he was a colourful and often-controversial figure.
Life and career
Eaton was born on December 27, 1883, on a farm near the village of
Eaton left Nova Scotia in 1899 to attend
After graduating from McMaster he moved to Cleveland and went to work for the East Ohio Gas Company. This was one of many businesses associated with John D. Rockefeller. After working with East Ohio Gas and Rockefeller for two years, he established his own business in 1907, developing gas utilities which at the time were relatively underdeveloped and unconsolidated in Canada. He managed to secure natural-gas franchises in Manitoba, Canada, representing a group of New York investors. The syndicate was unable to complete its financing and went defunct. However, the Manitoba government was sufficiently impressed to allow Eaton to retain the franchises. Eaton formed a new holding company, the Canada Gas & Electric Corp, later consolidated into the Continental Gas & Electric Corp. in 1913.
After spending several years travelling, Eaton settled in Cleveland in 1913 and became active in many businesses. Eaton joined the Otis & Co. banking firm in 1916. In 1926 he established the investment vehicle Continental Shares, Inc., a closed end trust. In 1927 he formed Republic Steel, the 3rd-largest U.S. steel company. His business had a complex structure which some felt to be too highly leveraged. His 1929 wealth was an estimated $100 million, most of which was lost in the Great Depression.
Eaton rebuilt his fortune in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming a director (1943), then board chairman (1954), of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and also board chairman of the West Kentucky Coal Co. (1953).[5]
Eaton married twice. First, in 1907, Margaret House (1887-1956); then Anne Kinder Jones (1922-1992) in 1957. He had seven children: Margaret Grace, Mary Adelle, Elizabeth Ann, Anna Bishop, Cyrus S. Jr., Augusta Farlee, and MacPherson.
Tower International
To effect the trading of
Philanthropy
In 1920, Eaton founded the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.[5]
The
Besides financial support for the Pugwash Conferences, Eaton provided funds to support education in Nova Scotia, particularly in Pugwash and to Acadia University. He supported the establishment of a game sanctuary in Nova Scotia on the Aspotogan Peninsula (his summer home was in Blandford, Nova Scotia where he had his ashes buried). He donated money for the doors of St. Bartholmus Church in Blandford and 12 acres (4.9 hectares) of land in Northfield, Ohio, for the Lee Eaton Elementary School, named in memory of his daughter. He was also a financial supporter of McMaster University, the YWCA, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Case Western Reserve University. Upon his death in 1979, his Blandford estate was purchased by a group of businessmen from Germany. His summer home was destroyed in a fire in 2015.
Awards
Eaton's 1950s efforts at rapprochement with the Soviet Union won him the 1960 Lenin Peace Prize. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958, and was the recipient of an honorary degree from Bowling Green State University in 1969. The Pugwash Conferences and their chairman, Joseph Rotblat, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.
Death
Eaton died on May 9, 1979, at his home, Acadia Farm, in Northfield, Ohio.[2][3] He had his ashes buried in Blandford, Nova Scotia.
Legacy
- Cyrus Eaton Elementary School, Pugwash, Nova Scotia
- Lee Eaton Elementary School, Northfield Village, Ohio (The primary school on Ledge Rd. sits on twelve acres of land donated by Mr. Cyrus Eaton in memory of his first born daughter Margret G. Eaton also known as Lee by the family.)
- Eaton Estate, a housing development in Northfield Village, Ohio, which is built on the site of his former home Acadia Farm.
He is the subject of Carol Moore-Ede's 1977 documentary film The Prophet from Pugwash.[19]
Notes
- ^ Later, during the 1980s perestroika, Cyrus Eaton World Trade Ltd. contributed to the opening up of trade between the Soviet Union and Canada.[13]
References
- The A. N. Marquis Company. 1949.
- ^ a b c d Alden Whitman (May 11, 1979). "Cyrus Eaton, Industrialist, 95, Dies. Cyrus Eaton Dies at 95. Cleveland Industrialist Urged Links With Communists". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
Cyrus S. Eaton Sr., a multimillionaire industrialist who strongly advocated friendly relations with the Communist world, died Wednesday night at his home, Acadia Farm, near Cleveland. He was 95 years old.
- ^ The Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved 2014-12-15.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f Eaton biography
- ^ a b c "Eaton, Cyrus Stephen". 30 July 2019.
- ^ Eaton, Cyrus (February 2, 1944). "Investment Banking: Competition or Decadence?". Financial World.
- ^ Eaton, Cyrus (Summer 1945). "Rationalism versus Rockefeller". The Humanist. 5 (2). American Humanist Association: 92–93.
- JSTOR 1597091.
- ^ "Canada's Opportunity—A Progressive Programme for Nation-wide Prosperity Through Full Resource Development".
- ^ a b c DeMont, John (November 13, 1989). "Forging a Really Big Deal: A Tycoon's Son Makes His Mark". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Epstein 1996, p. 268, 272.
- ^ Epstein 1996, pp. 263–265.
- ^ Chisholm, Patricia; Newman, Peter C. (November 13, 1989). "To Russia with Cash". Maclean's. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Epstein 1996, pp. 271–273.
- ^ Epstein 1996, p. 273.
- ^ Epstein 1996, pp. 267–276.
- ^ Epstein 1996, p. 267.
- ^ Cristy, Matt (March 31, 1997). "Phosphate treasure draws little interest". Jacksonville Business Journal. Jacksonville, Florida. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "The Prophet from Pugwash". Ottawa Citizen, November 5, 1977.
Works cited
- ISBN 978-0679448020.
Further reading
- Gleiser, Marcus, The World of Cyrus Eaton Kent State University Press, 2010; a biography, first published in 1966.
- Gibson, M. Allen (1977). Beautiful Upon the Mountain: A Portrait of Cyrus Eaton. Windsor, Nova Scotia: Lancelot Press. ISBN 978-0-88999-073-9.
- Rudnicki, Richard (2016). Cyrus Eaton: Champion for Peace. Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-77108-396-6.
- Cover of Time magazine February 24, 1930.
External links
- "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter E". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 7 April 2011
- Cyrus Eaton interviewed by Mike Wallace on The Mike Wallace Interview.
- Eaton, Cyrus (Summer 1945). "Rationalism versus Rockefeller". The Humanist. 5 (2). American Humanist Association: 92–93.
- Eaton, Cyrus (5 August 1961). "'America's Perilous Course'". Toronto Daily Star. p. 7. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
An essay Eaton wrote in response to the Toronto Star asking him what his political views were.
- Works by or about Cyrus S. Eaton at Internet Archive