Harvey Samuel Firestone Sr. (1868-1938) was an American industrialist who founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio in 1900. Born in Columbiana, Ohio, Firestone built his company into one of the first large scale makers of pneumatic tires for automobiles, supplying Henry Ford's early Model T production and helping make mass produced tires a practical necessity as automobile ownership spread across the United States. He pursued rubber supply for his factories through large plantation operations in Liberia, a venture that remains a debated part of his legacy. Firestone was a close friend and frequent camping companion of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, and his company remained one of the dominant American tire makers for decades after his death.
Facts
FAQs
Why is Harvey Firestone's Liberian rubber plantation controversial?
A 99-year lease of over 1 million acres, with forced labor by villagers arranged through the Liberian government.
According to a joint investigation by ProPublica and PBS, Firestone, while head of his company, arranged a deal with Liberia to lease over 1 million acres of land for a rubber plantation, the largest in the world. It took up over 10% of the country's fertile land and the deal was set to last for 99 years. The Liberian government forced indigenous villagers to work on the plantation, although investigators with the League of Nations found no evidence that Firestone itself consciously employed forcibly impressed labor. The town of Harbel was built as a company town for the plantation and named after Firestone and his wife, Idabelle.
Connections
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Harvey S. Firestone (Wikipedia)
Lead, birth/death parenthetical
1868-1938
Lead, opening sentence
American industrialist who established the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
In Group: Industrialists and Transport Entrepreneurs, Lead sentence
Harvey Samuel Firestone Sr. (December 20, 1868, February 7, 1938) was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.