Thomas Young (entrepreneur)

Thomas Young
Born(1895-05-26)May 26, 1895
Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
DiedSeptember 11, 1971(1971-09-11) (aged 76)
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
NationalityEnglish
OccupationFounder of the Young Electric Sign Company
Years active1920–1971
SpouseElmina Carlisle
Parent(s)George W. Young
Emily Tate Young
WebsiteYESCO.com

Thomas Young (May 26, 1895 – September 11, 1971) was a British entrepreneur from Sunderland, England, who founded the Young Electric Sign Company.[1]

Biography

He was born on May 26, 1895, in Sunderland, England.

Young's family converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his infancy. At age 15, Young and his family sailed from Liverpool, England, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and continued on to Ogden, Utah, United States, by train.

Young founded the Thomas Young Sign Company on March 20, 1920, in Ogden, Utah. Soon thereafter, Young changed the company name to Young Electric Sign Company. In 1931 he realized that with the start of the construction of Boulder Dam there would be enough electricity for Las Vegas, where gambling was now legal.[2]

Young and his company specialized in neon signs built for businesses throughout the intermountain west and Las Vegas. He and his company created many of the famous signs in Las Vegas, Nevada, such as the Circus Circus clown sign and the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign (created by Western Neon later acquired by YESCO.[3][4]

He died on September 11, 1971, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

References

  1. ^ "A Legacy of Light: Take a Tour Back through History". YESCO. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ^ Dave Bernslas (February 7, 1999). "Thomas Young". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  3. ^ "Lighting, Billboards & Sign Company in Las Vegas". YESCO. During the 'Golden Age of Neon' YESCO designers created a steady stream of displays at the Dunes, Sahara, Tropicana, El Morocco and Circus Circus.
  4. ^ "County Commission to Honor `Welcome to Las Vegas' Sign Designer". Government of Clark County, Nevada. 4 May 2015. Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), which bought Western Neon a few years after the sign was created, is now the sign's owner and operator.