Ball brothers

The Ball brothers (Lucius, William, Edmund, Frank, and George) were five American industrialists and philanthropists, who established a manufacturing business in New York and Indiana in the 1880s that was renamed the Ball Corporation in 1969. The Ball brothers' firm became a global manufacturer of plastic and metal food and beverage containers as well as a manufacturer of equipment and supplier of services to the aerospace industry. In addition to the brothers' manufacturing business, they were also noted for their philanthropy and community service. Earnings from their business ventures provided the financial resources to support a number of other projects in the community of Muncie, Indiana, and elsewhere. Most notably, the brothers became benefactors of several Muncie institutions including Ball State University, Ball Memorial Hospital, the YMCA, and Minnetrista. The Ball Brothers Foundation, established in 1926, continues the family's philanthropic interests.

The Ball brothers, whose glass company became known for its home canning jars, went into business together in 1880, and made the decision to move their glass manufacturing operations from Buffalo, New York to Muncie, Indiana, in 1886, due to the abundance of natural gas in the area. The brothers opened their factory in Muncie in 1888. The Ball company continued to prosper from their mass production of canning jars, known sometimes as "Ball jars". The company has subsequently expanded and diversified. By 1937, the value of the company was estimated at nearly $7 million.

The Ball brothers' parents, Lucius Styles Ball (1814-1878), a farmer and merchant, and Maria Polly Bingham Ball (1822-1892), a former schoolteacher, were born in Canada. They met in Greensburg, Ohio, and married on September 1, 1846. Lucius and Maria had a total of eight children, six sons and two daughters: Lucina Amelia, Lucius Lorenzo, William Charles, Edmund Burke, Frank Clayton, Mary Frances, George Alexander, and Clinton Harvey (died in infancy). The children were raised in eastern Ohio and in upstate New York.

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