Leonard Firestone
Encyclopedia
Leonard Kimball Firestone (born 10 June 1907 in Akron
, Summit County
, Ohio
; died Pebble Beach, California
on 24 December 1996), was a business man, ambassador and philanthropist.
and Idabelle Smith Firestone
, he was educated at The Hill School
, and graduated from Princeton University
in 1931, where he was active in golf
and polo
. He was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi
, and later attendee at Bohemian Grove
.
He was employed on graduation by the family company in sales positions by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, founded by his father in Akron
, Ohio
. In 1935, he was appointed sales manager and in 1939 became a director of Firestone. He was named president of Firestone Aviation Products Co. in 1941.
He was commissioned in the United States Navy
as a lieutenant
, but was assigned to inactive status to become president of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. of California in 1943. In 1966 he was the target of an abortive multi-million dollar kidnap plan . He retired as president of Firestone's California operations in 1970 .
, Firestone was delegate to Republican National Convention
from California in 1944 (alternate), 1948 and 1952 . In 1954 he was elected to the city council of Beverly Hills .
Firestone was chairman of the Nelson Rockefeller
campaign in the California Presidential primary in 1964 . Firestone was appointed U.S. ambassador to Belgium
by President Richard Nixon
in 1974, and was reappointed by President Gerald Ford
, serving until 1976. He was later chairman of the Richard M. Nixon Foundation .
In January 1977, former President Ford and Betty Ford
move into home next to Firestone at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, which later lead to the foundation of the Betty Ford Center
..
.
In 1975, his son Brooks
decided to leave the family business, and relocate his family to the Santa Ynez Valley: "I am the classic executive dropout. I spent 12 years in the tire business, and I finally decided my soul wasn’t there." . In partnership with his father, he founds the first commercial winery to crush grapes in Santa Barbara County. The vineyard served as the basis for the major development as California as a global source of wine.
and president of the World Affairs Council of L.A. He was a board member of several organisations.
Firestone took a particular interest in charities associated with alcohol
abuse, and was cofounder of the Betty Ford Centre in 1982. He was also director of the National Council of Alcoholism and also the Eisenhower Medical Center. Firestone also served on the Advisory Board of the ABC Recovery Center and was a major contributor to the expansion at the ABC Center .
. Polly died in 1965 of cancer
. He then married Barbara Knickerbocker Heatley on 4 March 1966. She died in 1985 of cancer
as well. He married Caroline Hudson Lynch on 11 January 1987 , the daughter of the owner of Oklahoma Ada and Atoka Railroad. His grandson is TV reality show personality Andrew Firestone
.
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Summit County
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
; died Pebble Beach, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 24 December 1996), was a business man, ambassador and philanthropist.
Biography
The son of Harvey FirestoneHarvey Firestone
Harvey Samuel Firestone was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires.-Family background:...
and Idabelle Smith Firestone
Idabelle Smith Firestone
Idabelle Smith Firestone was an American composer and songwriter.Born in Jackson, Michigan , she was educated at Alma College, Ontario. Her father, George, held the patent to the flour milling process....
, he was educated at The Hill School
The Hill School
The Hill School is a preparatory boarding school for boys and girls located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia....
, and graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1931, where he was active in golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
. He was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi
Alpha Kappa Psi
ΑΚΨ is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905...
, and later attendee at Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove is a campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club...
.
He was employed on graduation by the family company in sales positions by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, founded by his father in Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 1935, he was appointed sales manager and in 1939 became a director of Firestone. He was named president of Firestone Aviation Products Co. in 1941.
He was commissioned in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, but was assigned to inactive status to become president of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. of California in 1943. In 1966 he was the target of an abortive multi-million dollar kidnap plan . He retired as president of Firestone's California operations in 1970 .
Politics and diplomacy
A staunch RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Firestone was delegate to Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
from California in 1944 (alternate), 1948 and 1952 . In 1954 he was elected to the city council of Beverly Hills .
Firestone was chairman of the Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
campaign in the California Presidential primary in 1964 . Firestone was appointed U.S. ambassador to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
in 1974, and was reappointed by President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, serving until 1976. He was later chairman of the Richard M. Nixon Foundation .
In January 1977, former President Ford and Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
move into home next to Firestone at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, which later lead to the foundation of the Betty Ford Center
Betty Ford Center
The Betty Ford Center , is a non-profit, separately licensed residential chemical dependency recovery hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, that offers inpatient, outpatient, and day treatment for alcohol and other drug addictions as well as prevention and education programs for family and children...
..
Wine
Inspired by a 10-year local weather study, Firestone and two neighboring ranchers developed vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley, California in 1972. Firestone plants 250 acres (1 km²) of vines, including 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of ChardonnayChardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
.
In 1975, his son Brooks
Brooks Firestone
Anthony Brooks Firestone is an American businessman and politician.The son of Leonard Firestone, a grandson of Harvey Samuel Firestone and Idabelle Smith, and a nephew of Harvey Firestone, Jr., he was educated at The Webb School, and graduated from Columbia University...
decided to leave the family business, and relocate his family to the Santa Ynez Valley: "I am the classic executive dropout. I spent 12 years in the tire business, and I finally decided my soul wasn’t there." . In partnership with his father, he founds the first commercial winery to crush grapes in Santa Barbara County. The vineyard served as the basis for the major development as California as a global source of wine.
Charity
Firestone was a contributor to charities and served as president of the trustees of the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and president of the World Affairs Council of L.A. He was a board member of several organisations.
Firestone took a particular interest in charities associated with alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
abuse, and was cofounder of the Betty Ford Centre in 1982. He was also director of the National Council of Alcoholism and also the Eisenhower Medical Center. Firestone also served on the Advisory Board of the ABC Recovery Center and was a major contributor to the expansion at the ABC Center .
Personal life
In 1932, he married Polly Curtis, by whom he had three children, including Brooks FirestoneBrooks Firestone
Anthony Brooks Firestone is an American businessman and politician.The son of Leonard Firestone, a grandson of Harvey Samuel Firestone and Idabelle Smith, and a nephew of Harvey Firestone, Jr., he was educated at The Webb School, and graduated from Columbia University...
. Polly died in 1965 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He then married Barbara Knickerbocker Heatley on 4 March 1966. She died in 1985 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
as well. He married Caroline Hudson Lynch on 11 January 1987 , the daughter of the owner of Oklahoma Ada and Atoka Railroad. His grandson is TV reality show personality Andrew Firestone
Andrew Firestone
Andrew Boulton Firestone is an American TV reality show personality. He is the son of Brooks Firestone, a grandson of Leonard Firestone, and a great-grandson of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith....
.