Harvey Firestone, Jr.
| Harvey S. Firestone Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Harvey Samuel Firestone Jr. April 20, 1898 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | June 1, 1973 (aged 75) Akron, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Vice President of Firestone Tires |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Parke Firestone |
| Parent(s) |
Harvey Firestone Sr. Idabelle Smith Firestone |
Harvey Samuel Firestone Jr. (April 20, 1898 – June 1, 1973) was an American businessman. He was chairman of the board of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
He was born on April 20, 1898, to Harvey Firestone Sr. and Idabelle Smith Firestone and educated at Asheville School in Asheville, North Carolina. He served as a naval aviator during World War I. Graduating from Princeton University in 1920, Harvey Sr. placed Harvey Jr. in charge of his company's steel products division; Harvey Jr. took over the leadership of the company in 1941.
Firestone helped establish the company's supply and service stores, and guided its operations during World War II. He was also president of the Firestone Foundation.
Firestone married Elizabeth Parke Firestone in 1921. They had four children: Elizabeth, Anne, Martha, and Harvey Samuel III. Martha married William Clay Ford Sr. and was, as of his death in 2014, the owner of the Detroit Lions. Harvey III died in Havana in 1960. Harvey Jr. died on June 1, 1973.
During World War I, Britain and the Netherlands controlled 98% of the raw materials necessary for the production of rubber. After the Rubber Restriction Act was passed in Britain in 1922, the costs that the Firestone Company paid for its supplies rose. Starting in 1924, Firestone was assigned to travel worldwide in search of locations where the company could grow its own rubber. After visits to Asia and to Mexico, he settled on Liberia as the base for Firestone Plantations Company. He arranged for the lease of 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) of Liberian territory, a little more than 3 percent of that nation's area. The 12,000 Liberian employees were paid low wages, because, as former employee Arthur Hayman described, the Liberian government felt that "men with money in their pockets would eventually have demanded the ballot".
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