George Gordon Crawford

George Gordon Crawford
Born(1869-08-24)August 24, 1869
Madison, Georgia
DiedMarch 20, 1936(1936-03-20) (aged 66)
Fairfield, Alabama
Resting placeElmwood Cemetery
Birmingham, Alabama
Alma materGeorgia Tech
Known forIndustrialist and Georgia Tech's second graduate

George Gordon Crawford (August 24, 1869 – March 20, 1936) was an American industrialist.[1]

Early life and education

Crawford was born to George Gilmore and Margaret Reed Howard Crawford on August 24, 1869, and raised on a plantation in Madison, Georgia.[2] He was the second graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology; the 1890 graduating class consisted of two people, himself and Henry L. Smith; their graduation order was decided by the flip of a coin.[3] Crawford took a graduate course in chemistry from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany from 1891 to 1892.[4]

Career

In 1907, he became the president of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in Birmingham, Alabama, during which time he was named "Alabama's First Citizen".[4][5] He became president of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1930.[6]

Memberships and legacy

Crawford received an honorary doctorate from Georgia Tech in 1931,[6] and was a member of the Georgia Tech Board of Trustees until its replacement by the Georgia Board of Regents in 1932.[3] He is listed in the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce's Alabama Business Hall of Fame.[5] He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Crawford, George Gordon". American National Biography. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Lewis, Walter David (1994). Sloss Furnaces and the rise of the Birmingham district: an industrial epic. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817356682.
  3. ^ a b Wallace, Robert (1969). Dress Her in WHITE and GOLD: A biography of Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech Foundation.
  4. ^ a b McCleary, James Thompson (1911). Biographical directory of the American Iron and Steel Institute. American Iron and Steel Institute. p. 73. George Gordon Crawford 1890.
  5. ^ a b "Birmingham Baron" (PDF). Alabama Business Hall of Fame. University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce. June 2010. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  6. ^ a b McMath, Robert C.; Ronald H. Bayor; James E. Brittain; Lawrence Foster; August W. Giebelhaus; Germaine M. Reed. Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885-1985. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. p. 63.
  7. ^ Alpha Tau Omega (1897). Catalogue of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity: 1865-1897. By the fraternity. p. 209. George Gordon Crawford 1890.

Further reading

  • "Citizens of State to Give Cup to George Gordon Crawford". Birmingham Age-Herald. 1930-06-30. p. 2.
  • "Crawford Made Head of Group: Leads Ordnance Body for U.S. Army". Birmingham Post. 1927-09-22. p. 14.
  • "Crawford Rites are Planned for Saturday: Leader in Development of City Passes at Local Hospital". Birmingham Age-Herald. 1936-03-21. p. 1.
  • "Crawford to be Given Huge Cup". Birmingham News. 1930-06-30. p. 2.
  • "Crawford to Leave T.C.I. for New Job: Elected to Presidency of Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp". Birmingham Post. 1930-01-28. p. 1.
  • "George G. Crawford Helped Put TCI on Feet". Birmingham News. 1960-04-27. p. 21.
  • "George Gordon Crawford: A Gentleman in Industry". Birmingham News. 1936-03-21. p. 4.
  • Rikard, Marlene Hunt (1971). George Gordon Crawford: Man of the New South (Thesis). Samford University.
  • "Former Head of T.C.I. Dies After Lengthy Illness: George Gordon Crawford Prominent in Building of Steel Center". Birmingham News. 1936-03-20. pp. 1, 13.