Basic Biographical Information
Henry J. Kaiser was born in 1882 in Sprout Brook, New York. At the age of 13, he left school to begin working, and would one day become one of the world’s most renowned industrialists. In 1914 he formed a road-paving firm, which pioneered the use of heavy construction machinery. His boundless energy, imagination, and optimism were reflected in his company’s reputation for speed, efficiency, and economy.
In 1931 he joined with several other large contractors to build the Hoover, Bonneville, and Grand Coulee dams. He also expanded into sand, gravel, and cement production. When the United States entered World War II, he decided to apply his company’s construction skills to shipbuilding. By 1945 the company had built 1,490 vessels, establishing new records for speed. During this period, Kaiser built the first integrated steel plant on the West Coast, a factory which supplied material for his wartime manufacturing.
During the dam construction in the 1930s, the...
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References/Further Readings
Adams, S. (1997). Mr. Kaiser goes to Washington: The rise of a government entrepreneur. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Foster, M. (1989). Henry J. Kaiser: Builder in the modern American West. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Heiner, A. (1989). Henry J. Kaiser, American empire builder: An insider’s view. New York: P. Lang.
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Howard, D.B. (2010). Kaiser, Henry John. In: Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93996-4_234
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