William R. Kenan, Jr.
William Rand Kenan, Jr. (1872–1965) was an American businessman.[1][2]
Early life
William Rand Kenan, Jr., was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on April 30, 1872.[2] He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1894.
Career
He started his career by establishing plants for acetylene production in the United States, Australia and Germany.[1][2] In 1896, he worked for Union Carbide (now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company) in Niagara Falls, New York.[2]
Between 1899 and 1900, he helped develop Florida's east coast with oilman Henry Flagler.[1] This included the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway and the Florida East Coast Hotel Company, including the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.[2]
In 1901, Flagler married Kenan's sister, Mary Lily Kenan.[1] In 1904, he married Alice Pomroy, whom he had met at Flagler's home.[2] After Flagler's death in 1913, Mary Lily and Flagler's surviving two sisters inherited his estate.[1][2] In 1917, Mary Lily died and Kenan inherited most of Flagler's estate.[1]
He moved to Lockport, New York, his wife Alice's hometown, and ran the Western Block Company, the largest maker of block and tackle in the United States.[2] He maintained Randleigh Farm, a model dairy farm for research with Jersey cattle.[2] He spent the rest of his life writing and donating resources to philanthropic endeavors.[2]
Death and legacy
Kenan died in 1965. In 1986, the Kenan Center was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1] It houses the Kenan Institute for the Study of Private Enterprise as well as the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and William R. Kenan, Jr. Fund.[1] Moreover, the Kenan Memorial Stadium and the Kenan–Flagler Business School at UNC are named for him. Eighty-five endowed professorships at colleges and universities in the United States are named for him.[3]
Bibliography
- History of Randleigh Farm, Lockport, New York (six volumes, 1947)
- Incidents by the Way (autobiography, 1946-1958)
References
External links
- William Rand Kenan at Library of Congress Authorities, with 12 catalog records (1935–1956)
