The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
| Arthur Vining Davis | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
May 30, 1867 Sharon, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 17, 1962 (aged 95) Miami, Florida |
| Occupation | industrialist |
| Known for | philanthropy |
| Net worth | USD $400 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1103th of the U.S. GNP) |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Holmes Elizabeth Hawkins Weiman |
Arthur Vining "Art" Davis (May 30, 1867 – November 17, 1962) was an American industrialist and philanthropist.
Arthur Vining Davis was born in Sharon, Massachusetts, the son of Perley B. Davis, a Congregational minister, and Mary Frances. After attending school in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, and the Roxbury Latin School in Boston, Davis entered Amherst College, graduating in 1888. As a result of his father's friendship with a former parishioner, Alfred E. Hunt, founder of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company that made aluminum, Davis obtained a job with that company. Although aluminum's favorable characteristics as an industrial metal had been known for several decades, it was expensive to manufacture; Hunt's company hoped to capitalize on Charles Martin Hall's experiments to produce the metal at low cost.
The work required a handyman's disposition—overalls and a twelve-hour day—for the manufacturing process was a continuous one. Davis and Hall became close associates during the experimental phase, and on Thanksgiving Day of 1888, they poured the first commercial aluminum.
Davis soon became general manager of the firm and a director in 1892. He continued as general manager when the firm became the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) in 1907; he became president in 1910 and chairman of the board in 1928, in which capacity he served until 1958. Although by this time aluminum was more widely known, it was by no means a household word. Davis' major responsibility was to promote the manufacturing and selling of quality aluminum products: Alcoa's Wear-Ever line of cookware was sold by college students recruited each spring; Alcoa made aluminum wire as an electrical conductor when copper-wire producers refused to do so; and aluminum horseshoes, bicycles, covers for bottles, canteens, and ships, and the Wright brothers' airplane engine were evidence of the metal's versatility.
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