John Pitcairn, Jr.

John Pitcairn, Jr. (10 January 1841 – 22 July 1916) was a Scottish-born American industrialist who founded the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now PPG Industries).

Early life

Pitcairn was born in Johnstone, Scotland. In 1846, he emigrated with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his uncle had started a woolens business.

Career

Pitcairn began his professional life at the age of 14, working as an office boy for the Pennsylvania Railroad. By the late 1860s, Pitcairn had worked his way up through the industry, holding superintendent and general manager positions for several railroad companies. He then expanded his income substantially through several successful energy, mining, and banking investments. cite book
last = Hallett
first = Anthony & Diane
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs
publisher = John Wiley and Sons
date = 1997
location =
pages = 207-208
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=2PJICBnrpDgC&pg=PA208&lpg=PA208&dq=john+pitcairn++glass+1916&source=web&ots=8VnIfM1Tzc&sig=MK2H6M9XI5VFjQ6A_k4LEhKD0P4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA207,M1
doi =
id =
isbn = 0471175366 and 9780471175360 ]

In 1883, Pitcairn teamed up with Captain John Baptiste Ford to establish the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG). Based in Creighton, Pennsylvania ( about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River), PPG soon became the United States' first commercially successful producer of high-quality, thick flat glass using the plate process. PPG was also the world's first plate glass plant to power its furnaces with locally-produced natural gas, an innovation which rapidly stimulated widespread industrial use of the cleaner-burning fuel.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = 125 Anniversary
work =
publisher = PPG Industries
date = 2008
url = http://corporateportal.ppg.com/PPG/OurCompany/125anniversary.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-11-10 ]

PPG expanded quickly; by 1900, it included 10 plants, had a 65 percent share of the U.S. plate glass market, and had become the nation's second largest producer of paint.cite web
last = Garrett
first = Jeff
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Our Local Heritage : Tarentum-Area Glass Companies
work =
publisher = Alle-Kinski Today Online
date = 2006-08-01
url = http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/articles/2996
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-11-10 ] Today, known as PPG Industries, the company is a multi-billion dollar, Fortune 500 corporation with 150 manufacturing locations around the world. It now produces coatings, glass, fiberglass, and chemicals. ]

Personal life

Pitcairn married Gertrude Starkey in 1884. Together they had six children, four of which survived into adulthood.

Pitcairn was an active member and benefactor of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, also known as the New Church, which follows the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Pitcairn's financial largess enabled the founding of the Swedenborgian settlement at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania and the construction of the New Church's Bryn Athyn Cathedral.Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = John Pitcairn
newspaper = The New York Times
pages = p. 17
date = July 23, 1916
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E1D8153BE233A25750C2A9619C946796D6CF]

Pitcairn's family estate, the Cairnwood Estate, constructed in 1895, was entered onto the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Cairnwood
work =
publisher = The Gombach Group
date =
url = http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Montgomery_County/Bryn_Athyn_Borough/Cairnwood.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-10-10 ]

References

Persondata
NAME= Pitcairn, John, Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Jphn Pitcairn
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH=January 10 1841
PLACE OF BIRTH=Johnstone, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH=July 22 1916
PLACE OF DEATH=Bryn Athyn. Pennsylvania, United States