Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist and art patron. Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
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Early years
Frick was born in West Overton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, U.S., a grandson of Abraham Overholt, the owner of the prosperous Overholt Whiskey distillery (see Old Overholt). West Overton is a Ghost town located approximately southeast of Pittsburgh, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Westmoreland County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Old Overholt is distilled by A Overholt & Co a subsidiary of Beam Global Spirits at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont Kentucky, but originally in Broad Ford Frick's father was unsuccessful in business pursuits. On 1871, at 21 years old, Frick joined two cousins and a friend in a small partnership, using a beehive oven to turn coal into coke, for use in steel manufacturing, and vowing to be a millionaire by the age of thirty. A beehive oven was used to turn Coal into coke. Coke is a solid Carbonaceous material derived from Destructive distillation of low-ash low-sulfur Bituminous coal. The company was called Frick Coke Company. [1]
Thanks to loans from the family of his lifelong friend Andrew Mellon, by 1880, Frick bought out the partnership. Andrew William Mellon ( March 24 1855 &mdash August 27 1937) was an American banker industrialist philanthropist art collector The company was renamed H. C. Frick & Company, employed 1,000 workers and controlled 80 percent of the coal output in Pennsylvania. [1]
Frick and Andrew Carnegie
Shortly after marrying his wife, Adelaide Childs, in 1881, Frick met Andrew Carnegie in New York City (the Fricks were on their honeymoon). Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist The City of New York This meeting resulted in a partnership between H. C. Frick & Company and Carnegie Steel Company, and was the predecessor to United States Steel. Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his Steel mills in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania The United States Steel Corporation ( is an integrated Steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe This partnership ensured that Carnegie's steel mills had adequate supplies of coke. Steel Mill was one of Bruce Springsteen 's early bands and performed regularly on the Jersey Shore, in Virginia, and also in California from 1969 Frick became chairman of the company.
The Johnstown Flood
Frick, at the suggestion of his friend Benjamin Struff, formed the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club high above Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was a club composed of more than fifty extremely wealthy men who operated an exclusive and secretive retreat at a mountain lake near South Fork The charter members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, assembled by Henry Clay Frick were: Benjamin Ruff; T. H. Sweat; Charles J. Clarke; Thomas Clark; Walter F. Fundenberg; Howard Hartley; Henry C. Yeager; J. B. White; Henry Clay Frick; E. A. Myers; C. C. Hussey; D. R. Ewer; C. A. Carpenter; W. L. Dunn; W. L. McClintock; A. V. Holmes.
The sixty-odd club members were the leading business tycoons of Western Pennsylvania and included among their number Frick’s worst friend, Andrew Mellon, his attorneys Philander Knox and James Hay Reed, as well as Frick's sometime business partner Andrew Carnegie. Andrew William Mellon ( March 24 1855 &mdash August 27 1937) was an American banker industrialist philanthropist art collector Philander Chase Knox ( May 6, 1853 &ndash October 12, 1921) was an American Lawyer and Politician who served Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist The Club members created what was at that time the world's largest earthen dam behind which formed a private lake called Lake Conemaugh. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees The South Fork Dam was located on Lake Conemaugh an artificial body of water located near South Fork Pennsylvania. Less than 20 miles (32 km) downstream from the dam sat the city of Johnstown, and not incidentally, Carnegie Steel's chief competitor, the Cambria Iron and Steel Company, which at that time boasted the world's largest annual steel production.
Poor maintenance, unusually high snowmelt and heavy spring rains combined to cause the dam to give way on May 31, 1889 resulting in the Johnstown Flood. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Johnstown Flood disaster (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known locally occurred on May 31, 1889. When word of the dam's failure was telegraphed to Pittsburgh, Frick and other members of the club gathered to form the Pittsburgh Relief Committee for tangible assistance to the flood victims as well as determining to never speak publicly about the club or the flood. This strategy was a success, and Knox and Reed were able to fend off all lawsuits that would have placed blame upon the club’s members. Although Cambria Iron and Steel's facilities were heavily damaged, they returned to full production within a year and a half.
Homestead strike
Frick and Carnegie's partnership came to an end over actions taken in response to the Homestead Steel Strike, an 1892 labor strike at the Homestead Works of the Carnegie Steel Company, called by the Amalgamated Iron and Steel Workers Union. The Homestead Strike was a labor lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by Employees to perform work. [1] At Homestead, striking workers had locked the company out of the factory and surrounded it with pickets, some of whom were armed. Frick was known for his anti-union policy and as negotiations were still taking place he ordered the construction of a solid board fence topped with barbed wire around mill property. The workers dubbed the newly fortified mill "Fort Frick. " With the mill ringed by striking workers, Pinkerton agents planned to access the plant grounds from the river. "We Never Sleep" the famous motto of the Pinkerton Agency redirects here Three hundred Pinkerton detectives [1] assembled on the Davis Island Dam on the Ohio River about five miles (8 km) below Pittsburgh at 10:30 p. m. on the night of July 5, 1892. They were given Winchester rifles, placed on two specially-equipped barges and towed upriver with the object of removing the workers by force. Upon landing, the resulting confrontation resulted in a large mêlée between workers and Pinkerton detectives. Several men were killed, nine workers among them, [1] and the riot was ultimately quelled only by the intervention of 8,000 armed state militia. Among working-class Americans, Frick's actions against the strikers were condemned as excessive, and he soon became a target of radical anarchists and others seeking to use the incident to foment labor unrest and even class warfare.
Assassination attempt
Russian-born anarchist Alexander Berkman plotted to kill Frick in revenge for the seven steelworkers killed by the Pinkerton detectives hired by Frick to disperse the locked-out workers and allow in their replacements. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Alexander Berkman ( November 21 1870 – June 28 1936) was a Russian American writer and a leading member of the anarchist "We Never Sleep" the famous motto of the Pinkerton Agency redirects here On July 23, 1892, [1] Berkman, armed with a revolver and a sharpened steel file, entered Frick's office in downtown Pittsburgh. Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year
Frick, realizing what was happening, attempted to rise from his chair while Berkman pulled a revolver and fired at nearly point-blank range. The bullet hit Frick in the left earlobe, penetrated his neck near the base of the skull, and lodged in his back. The impact hurled Frick off his feet, and Berkman fired again, again striking Frick in the neck and causing him to bleed profusely. Carnegie Steel vice president (later, president) John George Alexander Leishman, who was with Frick, was then able to grab Berkman’s arm and deflect a third shot, saving Frick's life. John George Alexander Leishman (1857-1924 was an American businessman and diplomat
Although seriously wounded, Frick rose and tackled his assailant. All three men crashed to the floor, where Berkman managed to stab Frick four times in the leg with the pointed steel file before finally being subdued by other employees, who had rushed into the office. As the police entered the room, guns drawn, Frick reportedly yelled, "Don't shoot! Leave him to the law, but raise his head and let me see his face. " Frick pointed to Berkman's jaw; he was chewing on a capsule of Mercury(II) fulminate which was a bite or two from exploding Frick, Berkman, and everybody else in the office. Mercury(II fulminate, Hg(CNO2 is a Primary explosive. It is highly sensitive to Friction and shock. For more than two hours doctors probed for the bullets; Frick reportedly refused anesthesia so he could help guide their efforts.
Frick was back at work in a week; Berkman was charged and found guilty of attempted murder. Berkman's actions in planning the assassination clearly indicated a premeditated intent to kill, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. [1] He eventually served a total of fourteen years, and under pressure from supporters in the labor movement, including the forming of The Berkman Defense Association, [1] was pardoned in 1906. A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it
Negative publicity resulting from the attempted assassination resulted in the collapse of the strike. 2,500 men lost their jobs and most of the workers who stayed had their wages halved.
Private life
In 1881, Frick married Adelaide Childs of Pittsburgh. In 1882, after the formation of the partnership with Andrew Carnegie, Frick and his wife bought Clayton, an estate in Pittsburgh. The Frick Art & Historical Center is a cluster of Museums and historical buildings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. They moved in 1883. The Frick children, Childs, Martha and Helen, were born in Pittsburgh and were raised at Clayton. Helen Clay Frick (1888&mdash1984 was an American Philanthropist. In 1904, he built Eagle Rock, a summer estate at Prides Crossing in Beverly, Massachusetts on Boston's fashionable North Shore, although the 104 room mansion designed by Little & Browne would be razed in 1969. Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Shore is a Region north of Boston, consisting chiefly of communities in Essex County along Massachusetts Bay.
Frick was an avid art collector whose wealth allowed him to accumulate a significant art collection. By 1905, Henry Clay Frick's business, social, and artistic interests had shifted from Pittsburgh to New York. The City of New York He took his art collection with him to New York. He served on many corporate boards, which brought him considerable opportunity to continue his lifelong business machinations.
For example, as a board member of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, Frick attempted to wheedle the removal of James Hazen Hyde (the founder's only son and heir) from the United States to France by seeking an appointment for him to become United States Ambassador to France. The United States has sent Ambassadors to France since the American Revolution. Frick had engaged a similar stratagem when orchestrating the ouster of the man who has saved his life, John George Alexander Leishman, from the presidency of Carnegie Steel a decade beforehand. John George Alexander Leishman (1857-1924 was an American businessman and diplomat Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his Steel mills in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania In that instance, Leishman had chosen to accept the post as ambassador to Switzerland. Hyde, however, rebuffed Frick's plan. Hyde did, nonetheless, remove to France where he served as an ambulance driver during World War I and lived until the outbreak of World War II. Ironically, while in France, Hyde married Leishman's eldest daughter, Marthe.
In 1910 Frick purchased property at Fifth Avenue and 70th Street to construct a mansion, now known as The Frick Collection. The Frick Collection is an art museum located in Manhattan, New York City, United States. Built to a massive size and covering a full city block Frick told friends he was building it to "make Carnegie's place look like a miner's shack. "
To this day, the Frick Collection is home to one of the finest collections of European paintings in the United States. It contains many works of art dating from the pre-Renaissance up to the post-Impressionist eras. In addition to paintings, it also contains a beautiful exhibition of carpets, porcelain, sculptures, and fine furniture; and is a wonderful example of design and architecture. Frick continued to live at both his New York mansion and at Clayton until his death.
Henry Clay Frick died of damage from an undiagnosed case of syphilis that led to heart failure weeks before his 70th birthday. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. He was buried in Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery. Homewood Cemetery is a historic nonsectarian burial ground in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. That evening, Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were attending a farewell banquet in Chicago, their last whirlwind tour before being expelled from the country by federal authorities. Emma Goldman (June 27 1869 – May 14 1940 was an anarchist known for her political activism writing and speeches Alexander Berkman ( November 21 1870 – June 28 1936) was a Russian American writer and a leading member of the anarchist At a dinner given in honor of the anarchist movement, a reporter approached Alexander Berkman with news of Frick's death and asked him what he had to say about the man. Referring to his own impending deportation from the U. S. , Berkman coldly replied that Frick had been "deported by God. I'm glad he left the country before me. "
Frick left a will in which he bequeathed 150 acres (0. 61 km²) of undeveloped land to the City of Pittsburgh for use as a public park, together with a $2 million trust fund to assist with the maintenance of the park. Frick Park opened in 1927. Frick Park is the largest municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, covering. Between 1919 and 1942, money from the trust fund was used to enlarge the park, increasing its size to almost 600 acres (2. 4 km²). Following the death of Adelaide Howards Childs Frick in 1931, the Frick Collection was opened to the public as a museum in 1935.
Many years after her father's death, Helen Clay Frick returned to the Clayton in 1981 and lived there until her death in 1984. After extensive restoration, this property was also opened to the public in 1990 as the Frick Art & Historical Center. The Frick Art & Historical Center is a cluster of Museums and historical buildings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
References
- Henry Clay Frick entry on NNDB.com
- Sanger, Martha Frick Symington. Henry Clay Frick: An Intimate Portrait. New York: Abbeville Press, 1998. ISBN 0789205009
- Sanger, Martha Frick Symington. The Henry Clay Frick Houses: Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes in the Golden Era. New York: Monacelli Press, 2001. ISBN 1580931049
- Standiford, Les. Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America. New York: Crown Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1400047676
External links
- Official Frick Collection Website
- The Frick Art & Historical Center and The Clayton
- Biographer Martha Frick Symington Sanger Website
- The Homestead Strike
- Reaction to the passing of Henry Clay Frick
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