Harvey S. Firestone

Full Name: Harvey Samuel Firestone
Profession: Tire Industrialist

Nationality:

Biography: Harvey S. Firestone was an American businessman known for founding the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Born in Ohio, he was early to recognize the potential for automobile tires and became a key figure in the burgeoning industry.

After high school, Firestone first worked at the Columbus Buggy Company. He then launched his own business in 1890, producing rubber tires for carriages. By 1900, Firestone saw the opportunity in automobile tires and established the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

Firestone was part of "The Vagabonds," a group of American industry leaders including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and others, who would vacation and collaborate professionally. He collaborated with Samuel Crowther to write "Men and Rubber: The Story of Business" in 1926, in which he reflects on Ford and Edison, considering the causes of their success.

His contributions to industry and education are commemorated in the Firestone Library at Princeton University, among other memorials. The Harvey S. Firestone Memorial was dedicated in Akron, Ohio, in 1950. Firestone was posthumously honored with inductions into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1974 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2013.

Born: December 20, 1868
Birthplace: Columbiana, Ohio, USA
Star Sign: Sagittarius

Died: February 7, 1938 (aged 69)