Arthur Vining Davis
Encyclopedia
Arthur Vining Davis was an American
industrialist and philanthropist.
, the son of Perley B. Davis, a Congregational
minister, and Mary Frances. After attending school in Hyde Park, Massachusetts
, and the Roxbury Latin School
in Boston, Davis entered Amherst College
, graduating in 1888. As a result of his father's friendship with a former parishioner, Alfred E. Hunt, founder of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company that made aluminum, Davis obtained a job with that company. Although aluminum's favorable characteristics as an industrial metal had been known for several decades, it was expensive to manufacture; Hunt's company hoped to capitalize on Charles Martin Hall
's experiments to produce the metal at low cost. Davis thus joined a firm that was adventurous. The work required a handyman's disposition—overalls and a twelve-hour day—for the manufacturing process was a continuous one. Davis and Hall became close associates during the experimental phase, and on Thanksgiving Day
of 1888 they poured the first commercial aluminum.
(Alcoa) in 1907; he became president in 1910 and chairman of the board in 1928, in which capacity he served until 1958. Although by this time aluminum was more widely known, it was by no means a household word. Davis' major responsibility was to promote the manufacturing and selling of quality aluminum products: Alcoa's Wear-Ever line of cookware was sold by college students recruited each spring; Alcoa made aluminum wire as an electrical conductor when copper-wire producers refused to do so; and aluminum horseshoes, bicycles, covers for bottles, canteens, and ships, and the Wright brothers
' airplane engine were evidence of the metal's versatility.
But these years were also highlighted by confrontations with the government over antitrust
issues. In 1912 the Justice Department
charged Alcoa with three counts of violation of the antitrust laws; within a few weeks the company signed a consent decree. In 1922 the company underwent investigation by the Federal Trade Commission
, but the case was dismissed in 1930. In 1937 the Justice Department began an extensive antitrust case against Alcoa. This one was conspicuous for its duration and for Davis' extraordinary performance on the witness stand. Davis was the star witness, testifying for six weeks and contributing over two thousand pages of testimony. In dismissing the petition of the Justice Department, the trial judge praised Davis, who also drew accolades from his Alcoa colleagues for having personally won the company's case.
Awarded the Presidential Certificate of Merit for ensuring that the government had adequate supplies of aluminum in World War II
, Davis built Alcoa into an industrial giant. He also amassed great wealth as the company's largest stockholder, thereby provoking continued personal confrontation with Washington. At the time of his retirement from Alcoa in 1957, he was listed as the third-richest individual in the world.
Because Davis cherished privacy, his personal success was not accompanied by much exposure to the media about his business or private life. He did not usually fare well in his rare interviews. "I've had to work hard all my life," he asserted to a reporter. "I've had to work sixteen hours a day to make a good living. Do you work sixteen hours a day?" Time
magazine referred to Davis as a "terrible-tempered tycoon...ruling [Alcoa] with desk-thumping autocracy," a view that was not atypical in the press at large.
and Florida
. The investments included extensive real estate holdings in the Miami
area (estimated at one-eighth of Dade County
; see also Arvida Corp.
) and on Cuba
's Isle of Pines
(he was said to own one quarter of the island before his property there was nationalized by the Castro regime when he came to power), as well as ownership or control of some thirty Florida enterprises ranging from dairy farms to resort hotels. The rapid acquisition and size of the investments resulted in considerable publicity and additional controversy with the government, this time with the Securities and Exchange Commission
.
Davis died in Miami, leaving a $
400-million estate. Only a small portion of his wealth went to individuals. The majority went to a trust he had established in 1952 and to Arvida
(from ARthur VIning DAvis), a northern Quebec
model town he had founded in 1927 for working families. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
provide financial assistance to educational, religious, cultural, and scientific institutions, and are regular PBS
donors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrialist and philanthropist.
Early history
Arthur Vining Davis was born in Sharon, MassachusettsSharon, Massachusetts
Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston....
, the son of Perley B. Davis, a Congregational
Congregationalist polity
Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
minister, and Mary Frances. After attending school in Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...
, and the Roxbury Latin School
Roxbury Latin School
The Roxbury Latin School is the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. The school was founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.Located...
in Boston, Davis entered Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, graduating in 1888. As a result of his father's friendship with a former parishioner, Alfred E. Hunt, founder of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company that made aluminum, Davis obtained a job with that company. Although aluminum's favorable characteristics as an industrial metal had been known for several decades, it was expensive to manufacture; Hunt's company hoped to capitalize on Charles Martin Hall
Charles Martin Hall
Charles Martin Hall was an American inventor, music enthusiast, and chemist. He is best known for his invention in 1886 of an inexpensive method for producing aluminium, which became the first metal to attain widespread use since the prehistoric discovery of iron.-Early years:Charles Martin Hall...
's experiments to produce the metal at low cost. Davis thus joined a firm that was adventurous. The work required a handyman's disposition—overalls and a twelve-hour day—for the manufacturing process was a continuous one. Davis and Hall became close associates during the experimental phase, and on Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
of 1888 they poured the first commercial aluminum.
Alcoa
Davis soon became general manager of the firm and a director in 1892. He continued as general manager when the firm became the Aluminum Company of AmericaAlcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
(Alcoa) in 1907; he became president in 1910 and chairman of the board in 1928, in which capacity he served until 1958. Although by this time aluminum was more widely known, it was by no means a household word. Davis' major responsibility was to promote the manufacturing and selling of quality aluminum products: Alcoa's Wear-Ever line of cookware was sold by college students recruited each spring; Alcoa made aluminum wire as an electrical conductor when copper-wire producers refused to do so; and aluminum horseshoes, bicycles, covers for bottles, canteens, and ships, and the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
' airplane engine were evidence of the metal's versatility.
But these years were also highlighted by confrontations with the government over antitrust
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
issues. In 1912 the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
charged Alcoa with three counts of violation of the antitrust laws; within a few weeks the company signed a consent decree. In 1922 the company underwent investigation by the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
, but the case was dismissed in 1930. In 1937 the Justice Department began an extensive antitrust case against Alcoa. This one was conspicuous for its duration and for Davis' extraordinary performance on the witness stand. Davis was the star witness, testifying for six weeks and contributing over two thousand pages of testimony. In dismissing the petition of the Justice Department, the trial judge praised Davis, who also drew accolades from his Alcoa colleagues for having personally won the company's case.
Awarded the Presidential Certificate of Merit for ensuring that the government had adequate supplies of aluminum in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Davis built Alcoa into an industrial giant. He also amassed great wealth as the company's largest stockholder, thereby provoking continued personal confrontation with Washington. At the time of his retirement from Alcoa in 1957, he was listed as the third-richest individual in the world.
Because Davis cherished privacy, his personal success was not accompanied by much exposure to the media about his business or private life. He did not usually fare well in his rare interviews. "I've had to work hard all my life," he asserted to a reporter. "I've had to work sixteen hours a day to make a good living. Do you work sixteen hours a day?" Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine referred to Davis as a "terrible-tempered tycoon...ruling [Alcoa] with desk-thumping autocracy," a view that was not atypical in the press at large.
Investments and philanthropies
Davis married Florence Holmes in 1896. She died in 1908. In March 1912 he married Elizabeth Hawkins Weiman, who died in 1933. He had no children. Before retiring from Alcoa, Davis began a second career by investing primarily in The BahamasThe Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The investments included extensive real estate holdings in the Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
area (estimated at one-eighth of Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
; see also Arvida Corp.
Arvida Corp.
Arvida Corp., a Florida resort and real estate development company, was founded in 1958 by Arthur Vining Davis to develop his Florida land holdings, which included the historic Boca Raton Resort & Club, built in 1928....
) and on Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's Isle of Pines
Isle of Youth
Isla de la Juventud is the second-largest Cuban island and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies . The island has an area and is 100 km south of the island of Cuba, across the Gulf of Batabanó...
(he was said to own one quarter of the island before his property there was nationalized by the Castro regime when he came to power), as well as ownership or control of some thirty Florida enterprises ranging from dairy farms to resort hotels. The rapid acquisition and size of the investments resulted in considerable publicity and additional controversy with the government, this time with the Securities and Exchange Commission
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
.
Davis died in Miami, leaving a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
400-million estate. Only a small portion of his wealth went to individuals. The majority went to a trust he had established in 1952 and to Arvida
Arvida, Quebec
Arvida is a settlement of 12,000 people in Quebec, Canada, that is part of the City of Saguenay. Its name is derived from the name of its founder, Arthur Vining Davis, president of the Alcoa aluminum company ....
(from ARthur VIning DAvis), a northern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
model town he had founded in 1927 for working families. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are a group of charitable foundations established by American industrialist Arthur Vining Davis, onetime Alcoa president and Florida land developer.-History:...
provide financial assistance to educational, religious, cultural, and scientific institutions, and are regular PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
donors.
Resources
- "Arthur Vining Davis". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7: 1961–1965. American Council of Learned Societies, 1981.
- * McGoun, William E., Southeast Florida Pioneers: The Palm and Treasure Coasts, 1998, Sarasota: Pineapple Press, Chapter 27. Compares the lives of Arthur Vining Davis and John D. MacArthurJohn D. MacArthurJohn Donald MacArthur was an American businessman and philanthropist who established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, benefactor in the MacArthur Fellowships.-Early life:...
, another heavy investor in Florida real estate.