Conrad Hubert (15 April 1856 – 14 March 1928) was a Russian-American inventor''Who Was Who in America. Historical Volume, 1607-1896''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967. pg. 678 known for electric flashlights. He was the son of Belarusian Jewish parents who were

distiller Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

s and wine producers as were their ancestors.

Early life

Hubert attended Hebrew school when he was a boy. In 1868, at the age of thirteen, Hubert went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to study liquor

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

. While at this

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

for 6 years he worked at odd jobs for subsistence. In 1874 he returned to Minsk and became a partner in his father's business. In the next 15 years they branched out to various cities throughout Russia. Hubert had built up a reputation as an excellent businessman. Because of the Russian persecution of Jews however, Hubert at the age of 35 decided to move to the United States in 1890. He liquidated all of his commercial property and turned it into cash. The cash, however, was barely enough to buy passage to the United States. He arrived at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

in 1891 and, like many other immigrants, without knowing anybody. One of the first things he did then was change his birth name from Akiba Horowitz to Conrad Hubert.

Mid life

The opportunity was not there for Hubert to start again in the distillery business, where in Russia he was well known, so he decided to start a cigar store in New York City. For the next 6 to 8 years he tried other businesses which included a restaurant, a boarding house, a jewelry store, a farm, a milk wagon route and a novelty shop. The novelty shop, American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company,"American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company" The Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas - West, Volume 16, page 102, 1906
/ref> is his legacy. He ultimately turned this into the Ever Ready Company famous for its batteries.

Inventions

Hubert got interested in an electrical device for lighting

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

equipment in the later part of the 1890s. He obtained this patent (No. 617,592) from David Misell, which came with an "electric device" that resembles the flashlight.

Later life and death

Hubert continued to make improvements on his "portable electric lights" from 1903 forward. In 1905, he and W.H. Lawrence, who had manufactured the first consumer battery to power home telephones, formed the Ever Ready battery company.History of the Energizer Battery
/ref> He soon became a millionaire. In 1914 he sold Ever Ready Company to the

National Carbon Company The National Carbon Company was founded in 1886 by the former Brush Electric Company executive W. H. Lawrence, in association with Myron T. Herrick, James Parmelee, and Webb Hayes, son of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, in Cleveland, Ohio. ...

. He soon thereafter bought a controlling share in the Yale Electric Corporation, manufacturing batteries for automobiles and later for radios, and was the chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

until his death. He was a director of Pyrene Manufacturing Company and of Fordbrad Realty and was a member of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

of New York City and of Brooklyn. In addition to his house at 44 East 60th Street, New York, he had a winter house at Lake Wales, Florida. He was survived by two brothers and a sister. According to his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

three-quarters of his entire estate (about $8,000,000) was to be sent to the Conrad Hubert Fund jointly by a Protestant, a Catholic, and a Jew to unnamed organizations that served the general public welfare.

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

, Alfred E. Smith and

Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions in ...

decided on the distribution of Hubert's wealth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubert, Conrad 1856 births 1928 deaths Businesspeople from Minsk People from Minsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors