Walter Tenney Carleton
Encyclopedia
Walter Tenney Carleton was an early international businessman
. He was one of the three founding directors of NEC Corporation, the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
(formerly known as South Malden) on 24 December 1867 to Isaac Newton Carleton
and Laura Tenney Carleton. He attended public schools in New Britain, Connecticut
. He later attended Carleton School for Boys
in Bradford, Massachusetts
(now part of Haverhill) in 1884. He joined the First Church in Bradford in 1885. He attended Dartmouth College
. He was a member of the Glee Club and also sang in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church choir and Rollins Chapel choir. He was also in the Kappa Kappa Kappa
fraternity and Sphinx Society
. He graduated in 1891 with an A.B.
His parents were Isaac N. Carleton
and Laura Tenney Carleton. His brother was named Theodore. He had two sisters, Clara and Grace. Grace married Forrest F. Dryden
, son of New Jersey
Senator John F. Dryden
. Walter married Enriqueta Navarro D'Hamel 31 December 1895 at St. John's church, Brooklyn. They resided in New York City on Thomas street. Their only son, Charles Dubois Carleton was born 7 January 1899 in Yokohama
Japan, where Walter and Enriqueta had traveled on business with Western Electric
.
after he graduated from Dartmouth. He then worked for three months at D.C. Heath and Company, a publisher in Boston. He started working for Western Electric
in 1892. He traveled with his wife to Japan as an agent for Western Electric in October 1897. He was the assistant of Harry B. Thayer
, then the International department manager for Western Electric. Thayer had been to Tokyo in 1896 and knew that the telephone business in Japan was promising. Carleton met with Kunihiko Iwadare
, the Western Electric agent in Japan. He also met with Saitaro Oi, chief engineer of the Ministry of Communications and others. Walter joined Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda as one of the three founding directors of NEC Corporation in 1899. He represented Western Electric by voting their share of NEC stock. Western Electric held 54% of NEC at the time. He was later presented with a wakizashi
as a gift in recognition for his work at NEC. Though his time with NEC was limited to the years of 1897 to 1900, Carletons influence would stay with NEC for years after his departure. He sailed for home 2 June 1900 after completing his duties with NEC. He arrived in Bradford Massachusetts, 30 June 1900. He was to take charge of the Chicago branch of Western Electric. Tragically he had developed appendicitis
. Carleton died during a difficult operation at Hale hospital on 6 July 1900 in Haverhill, Massachusetts
.
International Business
International business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions that take place between two or more regions, countries and nations beyond their political boundary...
. He was one of the three founding directors of NEC Corporation, the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
Youth and education
He was born in Everett, MassachusettsEverett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...
(formerly known as South Malden) on 24 December 1867 to Isaac Newton Carleton
Isaac Newton Carleton
Isaac N. Carleton was an educator. He taught at Phillips Academy and was the principal of State Normal School in New Britain, Connecticut for twelve years. He was the founder of Carleton School for Boys in Bradford, Massachusetts...
and Laura Tenney Carleton. He attended public schools in New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
. He later attended Carleton School for Boys
Carleton School for Boys
Carleton School for Boys was a boarding school for boys in Bradford, Massachusetts. It was founded by Isaac N. Carleton in 1884 after his term as principal at the State Normal School in New Britain, Connecticut. The school continued teaching until about 1901...
in Bradford, Massachusetts
Bradford, Massachusetts
Bradford is a former town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The name currently refers to the area on the south side of the Merrimack River in Haverhill, Massachusetts that was once Bradford...
(now part of Haverhill) in 1884. He joined the First Church in Bradford in 1885. He attended Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He was a member of the Glee Club and also sang in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church choir and Rollins Chapel choir. He was also in the Kappa Kappa Kappa
Kappa Kappa Kappa
Kappa Kappa Kappa is a local men's fraternity at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fraternity founded in 1842 is the second-oldest fraternity at Dartmouth College and the oldest local fraternity in the nation...
fraternity and Sphinx Society
Sphinx (senior society)
The Sphinx, founded in 1885, is the oldest of the eight senior societies at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Though sometimes also claimed to be the oldest all male secret society in the country, both the Flat Hat Club at the College of William and Mary and Sigma at Washington and Lee...
. He graduated in 1891 with an A.B.
Family
Isaac Newton Carleton
Isaac N. Carleton was an educator. He taught at Phillips Academy and was the principal of State Normal School in New Britain, Connecticut for twelve years. He was the founder of Carleton School for Boys in Bradford, Massachusetts...
and Laura Tenney Carleton. His brother was named Theodore. He had two sisters, Clara and Grace. Grace married Forrest F. Dryden
Forrest F. Dryden
Forrest Fairchild Dryden was the President of Prudential Insurance Company of America from 1912 until 1922. Prudential was founded by his father, John F. Dryden, who was also a United States Senator, representing New Jersey.-Youth and Education:Dryden was born in Bedford, Ohio on December 26,...
, son of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Senator John F. Dryden
John F. Dryden
John Fairfield Dryden was president of the Prudential Insurance Company and a United States Senator from New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".-Biography:...
. Walter married Enriqueta Navarro D'Hamel 31 December 1895 at St. John's church, Brooklyn. They resided in New York City on Thomas street. Their only son, Charles Dubois Carleton was born 7 January 1899 in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
Japan, where Walter and Enriqueta had traveled on business with Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
.
Career
He briefly taught at the Carleton School for BoysCarleton School for Boys
Carleton School for Boys was a boarding school for boys in Bradford, Massachusetts. It was founded by Isaac N. Carleton in 1884 after his term as principal at the State Normal School in New Britain, Connecticut. The school continued teaching until about 1901...
after he graduated from Dartmouth. He then worked for three months at D.C. Heath and Company, a publisher in Boston. He started working for Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
in 1892. He traveled with his wife to Japan as an agent for Western Electric in October 1897. He was the assistant of Harry B. Thayer
Harry Bates Thayer
Harry Bates Thayer , U.S. was an electrical and telephone businessman. He designed an electrical punched card machine in 1887 at Dartmouth College....
, then the International department manager for Western Electric. Thayer had been to Tokyo in 1896 and knew that the telephone business in Japan was promising. Carleton met with Kunihiko Iwadare
Kunihiko Iwadare
was a Japanese businessman. A graduate of the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, he worked as a telegraph engineer for the Japanese government. He left Japan in 1886 and traveled to New York. He was introduced to Charles Batchelor, an assistant of Thomas Edison. Iwadare was hired to work...
, the Western Electric agent in Japan. He also met with Saitaro Oi, chief engineer of the Ministry of Communications and others. Walter joined Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda as one of the three founding directors of NEC Corporation in 1899. He represented Western Electric by voting their share of NEC stock. Western Electric held 54% of NEC at the time. He was later presented with a wakizashi
Wakizashi
The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...
as a gift in recognition for his work at NEC. Though his time with NEC was limited to the years of 1897 to 1900, Carletons influence would stay with NEC for years after his departure. He sailed for home 2 June 1900 after completing his duties with NEC. He arrived in Bradford Massachusetts, 30 June 1900. He was to take charge of the Chicago branch of Western Electric. Tragically he had developed appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. Carleton died during a difficult operation at Hale hospital on 6 July 1900 in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
.
External links
- Walter Tenney Carleton - An American in Japan (Draft)
- 325.1KB PDF scan from the Carleton family album
- Carleton School Team
- Obituary (PDF)
- Kibataro Oki, Pioneer of Telecommunications Industry (Walter Tenney Carleton reference)
- NEC History, 1899-Early Development (Kunihiko Iwadare reference)
- HARDWARE CITY HISTORY: City man found it doesn't take a fleet to open Japan