John Pitcairn Jr.
| John Pitcairn, Jr. | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
January 10, 1841 Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Died | July 22, 1916 (aged 75) Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | Scottish-American |
| Occupation | Capitalist, Industrialist |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrude Starkey |
| Children | Vera Pitcairn Raymond Pitcairn Theodore Pitcairn Harold Frederick Pitcairn |
John Pitcairn, Jr. (January 10, 1841 – July 22, 1916) was a Scottish-born American industrialist. With just an elementary school education, Pitcairn rose through the ranks of the Pennsylvania railroad industry, and played a significant role in the creation of the modern oil and natural gas industries. He went on to found the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now PPG Industries), an early industry innovator which quickly grew into the largest manufacturer of plate glass in the United States, and amassed one of the largest fortunes in the United States at the time.
Pitcairn was also the primary financial benefactor of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a Christian church which follows the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, and was a major activist in the American anti-vaccination movement.
Pitcairn was born on January 10, 1841 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland to parents John Pitcairn, Sr. (1803 – 1884), a machinist, and Agnes McEwan (1803 - 1891), a housekeeper. He was one of six children resulting from the marriage, and also had two older half-siblings from his father's first marriage.
Pitcairn's parents had initially emigrated to America around 1835, and lived first in Brooklyn, New York, and then in Paterson, New Jersey, where Pitcairn' sister, Janet, was born. Meeting with a lack of financial success, they returned to Scotland a few years later. In 1846, however, the family emigrated again to America, this time with four new children, and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where Pitcairn's uncle, Alexander Pitcairn, had started a woolens business. There, Pitcairn attended public school until dropping out at age 14 to pursue a career in the railroad.
Around 1849 Pitcairn and the rest of his family were baptized by David Powell, a reverend of the New Church.
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