Elbert Henry Gary
Encyclopedia
Elbert Henry Gary was an American
lawyer, county judge and corporate officer. He was a key founder of U.S. Steel
in 1901, bringing together partners J. P. Morgan
, Andrew Carnegie
, and Charles M. Schwab
. The city of Gary, Indiana
, a steel town, was named for him when it was founded in 1906. When trust busting President Theodore Roosevelt
said that Gary was head of the steel trust, Gary considered it a compliment. The two men communicated in a non-confrontational way unlike Roosevelt's relationship with leaders of other trusts.
on October 8, 1846 to Erastus Gary and Susan A. Vallette. He graduated first in his class from Union College of Law in 1868. The school later became the Northwestern University School of Law
. Gary started to practice law in Chicago
in 1871 and also maintained an office in Wheaton
. He was a co-founder with his uncle, Jesse Wheaton, of the Gary-Wheaton Bank that merged with Bank One Corporation
in the middle 1990s.
While he was working as a young corporate attorney for railroads and other clients in the years after the Great Chicago Fire
, Gary was elected as president of Wheaton three times, and when it became a city in 1892 served as its first mayor for two terms.
He served two terms as a DuPage County
judge from 1882 to 1890. For the rest of his life he was known as "Judge Gary." It was a common custom in the nineteenth century for men to be addressed by military, political, or academic titles long after those titles were current.
Gary practiced law in Chicago for about twenty-five years. He was president of the Chicago Bar Association from 1893 to 1894. It was while he was hearing a case as a judge that he first became interested in the process of making steel and the economics of that business. In 1898 he became president of Federal Steel Corporation in Chicago that included a barbed wire
business. At this time he retired from his law practice. Federal and other companies merged as U.S. Steel
in 1901. He was elected chairman of the board of directors and the finance committee.
Gary moved from Wheaton to New York
in 1900 at the age of 54, where he established the headquarters of U.S. Steel. The town of Gary, Indiana
, laid out in 1906 as a model home for steel workmen, was named in his honor. In 1914 he was made chairman of the committee appointed by the Mayor of New York, John Purroy Mitchel
, to study the question of unemployment and its relief. When America entered World War I
in 1917, he was appointed chairman of the committee on steel of the Council of National Defense
. Through his connection with a business essential for munitions of war, he exerted great influence in bringing about cooperation between the government and industry. He was interested in strengthening the friendship between America and Japan
. In 1919, he was invited by President Wilson
to attend the Industrial Conference in Washington
, and took a prominent part in it as a firm upholder of the “open shop,” of which he was always a strong advocate.
From 1906 to 1908, he served as president of the Illinois State Society of New York, a group of Illinois
expatriates living in New York who got together for social reasons a few times each year. They held an annual Lincoln Day Dinner in February at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
and a Chicago Fire Remembrance Day each October at the same Delmonico's Restaurant
that still stands today in Manhattan
. There were also Illinois State Societies in San Diego and San Francisco and a large Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C.
. Only the Washington, DC club remains. It celebrated 152 years of activities in 2006.
He served as president and chairman of the board of America's first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel
, from the company's founding in 1901 until his death on August 15, 1927 in New York at the age of 82.
In November 1904, with a government suit looming, Gary approached President Roosevelt with a deal: cooperation in exchange for preferential treatment. US Steel would open its books to the Bureau of Corporations; if the Bureau found evidence of wrongdoing, the company would be warned privately and given a chance to set matters right. Roosevelt accepted this "gentlemen's agreement" because it met his interest in accommodating the modern industrial order while maintaining his public image as slayer of the trusts.
He died on August 15, 1927.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, county judge and corporate officer. He was a key founder of U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
in 1901, bringing together partners J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, and Charles M. Schwab
Charles M. Schwab
Charles Michael Schwab was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world....
. The city of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, a steel town, was named for him when it was founded in 1906. When trust busting President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
said that Gary was head of the steel trust, Gary considered it a compliment. The two men communicated in a non-confrontational way unlike Roosevelt's relationship with leaders of other trusts.
Biography
Elbert Gary was born near Wheaton, IllinoisWheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...
on October 8, 1846 to Erastus Gary and Susan A. Vallette. He graduated first in his class from Union College of Law in 1868. The school later became the Northwestern University School of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...
. Gary started to practice law in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1871 and also maintained an office in Wheaton
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...
. He was a co-founder with his uncle, Jesse Wheaton, of the Gary-Wheaton Bank that merged with Bank One Corporation
Bank One Corporation
Some of the banks that were merged into these banks include:*Bank One**Security National Bank & Trust **Affiliated Bankshares of Colorado **American Fletcher Corp. **City National Bank and Trust Co...
in the middle 1990s.
While he was working as a young corporate attorney for railroads and other clients in the years after the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
, Gary was elected as president of Wheaton three times, and when it became a city in 1892 served as its first mayor for two terms.
He served two terms as a DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
judge from 1882 to 1890. For the rest of his life he was known as "Judge Gary." It was a common custom in the nineteenth century for men to be addressed by military, political, or academic titles long after those titles were current.
Gary practiced law in Chicago for about twenty-five years. He was president of the Chicago Bar Association from 1893 to 1894. It was while he was hearing a case as a judge that he first became interested in the process of making steel and the economics of that business. In 1898 he became president of Federal Steel Corporation in Chicago that included a barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
business. At this time he retired from his law practice. Federal and other companies merged as U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
in 1901. He was elected chairman of the board of directors and the finance committee.
Gary moved from Wheaton to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1900 at the age of 54, where he established the headquarters of U.S. Steel. The town of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, laid out in 1906 as a model home for steel workmen, was named in his honor. In 1914 he was made chairman of the committee appointed by the Mayor of New York, John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917. At age 34 he was the second-youngest ever; he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mayor Mitchel is remembered for his short career as leader of Reform politics in New York, as well as for his early death as an...
, to study the question of unemployment and its relief. When America entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917, he was appointed chairman of the committee on steel of the Council of National Defense
Council of National Defense
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public...
. Through his connection with a business essential for munitions of war, he exerted great influence in bringing about cooperation between the government and industry. He was interested in strengthening the friendship between America and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In 1919, he was invited by President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
to attend the Industrial Conference in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and took a prominent part in it as a firm upholder of the “open shop,” of which he was always a strong advocate.
From 1906 to 1908, he served as president of the Illinois State Society of New York, a group of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
expatriates living in New York who got together for social reasons a few times each year. They held an annual Lincoln Day Dinner in February at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
and a Chicago Fire Remembrance Day each October at the same Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's is the name of series of restaurants of varying duration, quality, and fame located in New York City. The original and most famous was operated by the Delmonico family during the 19th and early 20th centuries, closing due to a Prohibition-era slowdown in 1923...
that still stands today in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. There were also Illinois State Societies in San Diego and San Francisco and a large Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Only the Washington, DC club remains. It celebrated 152 years of activities in 2006.
He served as president and chairman of the board of America's first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
, from the company's founding in 1901 until his death on August 15, 1927 in New York at the age of 82.
In November 1904, with a government suit looming, Gary approached President Roosevelt with a deal: cooperation in exchange for preferential treatment. US Steel would open its books to the Bureau of Corporations; if the Bureau found evidence of wrongdoing, the company would be warned privately and given a chance to set matters right. Roosevelt accepted this "gentlemen's agreement" because it met his interest in accommodating the modern industrial order while maintaining his public image as slayer of the trusts.
He died on August 15, 1927.