Harold Fowler McCormick
| Harold Fowler McCormick | |
|---|---|
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| Born | May 2, 1872 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Beverly Hills, California |
| Cause of death | Cerebral hemorrhage |
| Employer | International Harvester Company |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Rockefeller (m.1895—1921; divorced) Ganna Walska (m.1922—1931; divorced) |
| Children | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Parent(s) | Cyrus Hall McCormick Nancy Fowler |
| Relatives | See McCormick family |
Harold Fowler McCormick (May 2, 1872 — October 16, 1941) was an American businessman. He was chairman of the board of International Harvester Company and a member of the McCormick family.
Biography
Harold Fowler McCormick was born in Chicago May 2, 1872, to inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809–1884) and philanthropist Nancy Fowler (1835–1923).[1][2] During the 1890s he competed in the US National Tennis Championships.[3] In 1895 he married Edith Rockefeller (1872–1932), the youngest daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) and schoolteacher Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman (1839–1915). McCormick became the third inaugural trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation. He was also a trustee of the Rockefeller-created University of Chicago. He and Edith had five children before divorcing in December 1921:
- John Rockefeller McCormick (February 24, 1896 – January 2, 1901), died young from scarlet fever
- Editha McCormick (September 17, 1897 – June 11, 1898)
- Harold Fowler McCormick Jr. (November 15, 1898 – January 6, 1973),[4] who married Anna Urquhart Brown Potter. She was previously married to James Alexander Stillman and was the daughter of James Brown Potter and Mary Cora Urquhart.
- Muriel McCormick (1903 – March 18, 1959)[5]
- Mathilde McCormick (April 8, 1905 – May 18, 1947)[6]
As an officer of the Aero Club of Illinois, founded February 10, 1910, McCormick became the third president in 1912, following Octave Chanute and James E. Plew.[7][8]
In 1914, McCormick, Plew, and Bion J. Arnold attempted to form a commuter airline which they announced would begin service in May, "using seaplanes to ferry passengers between various North Shore suburbs and Grant Park and the South Shore Country Club. Lake Shore Airline, which had two seaplanes, was intended to be a profit-making venture charging a steep twenty-eight-dollar round-trip fare between Lake Forest and downtown Chicago on four daily scheduled circuits. However, Chicago's irregular weather, especially the crosswinds, made a shamble of schedules, and the airline disappeared before the end of the year."[9][10]
McCormick married opera singer Ganna Walska in 1922.[11] They divorced in 1931.
During the transition period between these two women, McCormick sought to fortify himself by undergoing an operation by Serge Voronoff, a surgeon who specialized in transplanting animal glands into aging men with impotency.[12] He resided at 1000 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. McCormick became chairman of the board of International Harvester Company in 1935, replacing his older brother Cyrus Jr. (1859–1936).
McCormick died October 16, 1941, of a cerebral hemorrhage, at his home in Beverly Hills, California.[2][13]
Legacy
Orson Welles claimed that McCormick's lavish promotion of Walska's opera career—despite her renown as a terrible singer—was a direct influence on the screenplay for Citizen Kane, wherein the titular character does much the same for his second wife.[14]:497 Samuel Insull, president of a utilities holding empire that included Commonwealth Edison, was another influence,[14]:49 along with William Randolph Hearst.[15]:78
See also
References
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- ↑ Young, David M., "Chicago Aviation: An Illustrated History", Northern Illinois University Press, Dekalb, Illinois, Library of Congress card number 2002033803, ISBN 0-87580-311-3, page 54.
- ↑ Young, David M., "Chicago Aviation: An Illustrated History", Northern Illinois University Press, Dekalb, Illinois, Library of Congress card number 2002033803, ISBN 0-87580-311-3, page 56.
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, January 25, 1918; Harold F. McCormick, "From My Experiences Concerning Aviation," speeches of December 1 and 8, 1917, before the Psychological Club of Zurich, Switzerland, McCormick Collection, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison.
- ↑ Young, David M., "Chicago Aviation: An Illustrated History", Northern Illinois University Press, Dekalb, Illinois, Library of Congress card number 2002033803, ISBN 0-87580-311-3, page 57.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Grossman, Ron. (March 31, 1985) Chicago Tribune Lost lake shore drive: Mourning an era; Mansions of rich and famous yield to giant condos. Section: Real estate; Page 1.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Further reading
- Chernow, Ron. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. New York: Warner Books, 1998.
- (Harvester World) Issue v.22, no.1, January 1942.
Images
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McCormick 3438464620 f1f4c829d5 o.jpg
Frank John Bersbach Sr. and Harold Fowler McCormick in Logan Archbold Vilas' flying boat in 1913
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