Erskine Ramsay
Encyclopedia
Erskine Ramsay was an Alabama industrialist born September 24, 1864
in Allegheny co, PA. His family came from the same town as Andrew Carnegie
. Erskine Ramsay's father, a mining engineer, followed Carnegie to Pittsburgh hearing of his success there. The younger Ramsay started working in cooperative store at the mines as a teenager. In 1882, he attended St Vincent's College, Latrobe PA, at the Senior level, graduating at the head of his class, with little previous formal education. He switched to the mining operations side and was quickly advanced being focused on productivity. He was hired away from Pennsylvania in his twenties to fill a managerial post at Tennessee Coal & Iron. He came to Birmingham in 1887 to run the Pratt Mines, where he invented the rotary coal dump, swivel coupling, and many other innovations, eventually holding over 40 patents, according to industry journal Coal Age.
From there Ramsay advanced to increasingly senior positions within the company. With a group of investors he took over and managed Pratt Consolidated Coal.
A key figure in the development of Birmingham AL, he also donated $100,000 to Auburn University
, the largest single contribution at that time (ca 1925), and the Erskine Ramsay Engineering Hall (1925) was one of the results. It has recently been scheduled for demolition.
Awarded the William Lawrence Saunders Medal (1937) by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers for improving the making of coke. He began opening bank accounts for males named for him, and did this for Erskine Hawkins
. Hawkins became a trumpeter and bandleader and helped create the hit song "Tuxedo Junction." Hawkins is buried in the same cemetery as Ramsay.
Erskine Ramsay died August 15, 1953, in Birmingham.
One son was Andrew Carnegie Ramsay, 1881 - 1937. Father and son are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham AL, on Block 16.
in Allegheny co, PA. His family came from the same town as 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...
. Erskine Ramsay's father, a mining engineer, followed Carnegie to Pittsburgh hearing of his success there. The younger Ramsay started working in cooperative store at the mines as a teenager. In 1882, he attended St Vincent's College, Latrobe PA, at the Senior level, graduating at the head of his class, with little previous formal education. He switched to the mining operations side and was quickly advanced being focused on productivity. He was hired away from Pennsylvania in his twenties to fill a managerial post at Tennessee Coal & Iron. He came to Birmingham in 1887 to run the Pratt Mines, where he invented the rotary coal dump, swivel coupling, and many other innovations, eventually holding over 40 patents, according to industry journal Coal Age.
From there Ramsay advanced to increasingly senior positions within the company. With a group of investors he took over and managed Pratt Consolidated Coal.
A key figure in the development of Birmingham AL, he also donated $100,000 to Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, the largest single contribution at that time (ca 1925), and the Erskine Ramsay Engineering Hall (1925) was one of the results. It has recently been scheduled for demolition.
Awarded the William Lawrence Saunders Medal (1937) by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers for improving the making of coke. He began opening bank accounts for males named for him, and did this for Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpet player and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is most remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson...
. Hawkins became a trumpeter and bandleader and helped create the hit song "Tuxedo Junction." Hawkins is buried in the same cemetery as Ramsay.
Erskine Ramsay died August 15, 1953, in Birmingham.
One son was Andrew Carnegie Ramsay, 1881 - 1937. Father and son are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham AL, on Block 16.