Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship.
The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadians ...
investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned seventy years.
[
For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the American Midwest, and he was a colourful and often-controversial figure.] He was chiefly known for his longevity in business, for his opposition to the dominance of eastern financiers in the America of his day, for his occasionally ruthless financial manipulations, for his passion for world peace and for his outspoken criticism of United States Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
policy. He funded and helped organize the first Pugwash Conferences
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was fo ...
on World Peace, in 1957.[ He wrote numerous articles and essays on political and economic subjects—"Investment Banking", "Competition or Decadence", "Rationalism Versus Rockefeller", and "A Capitalist Looks at Labour" being some of the best known.
]
Life and career
Eaton was born on December 27, 1883, on a farm near the village of Pugwash in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
History
The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755 in honour of the third son of King George II ...
, Canada. Besides farming, his father, Joseph Howe Eaton, ran a small general store and the district post office. Cyrus' uncle was Charles Aubrey Eaton
Charles Aubrey Eaton (March 29, 1868January 23, 1953) was a Canadian-born American clergyman and politician who led congregations at Natick, Massachusetts, 1893–1895; Bloor Street, Toronto, 1895–1901; Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 1901 ...
who led a Cleveland congregation that included Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Sr.
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
who Cyrus Eaton met in 1901 when he was 17 and later became his ''protégé
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
'' after Rockefeller hired the young Eaton to be a messenger in Rockefeller's private telegraph room.
Eaton left Nova Scotia in 1899 to attend Woodstock College
Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to ...
, a Baptist-affiliated prep school in Woodstock, Ontario. Later he enrolled at McMaster University, a Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
university, then located in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, where he studied philosophy and finance, intending to enter the Baptist ministry. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in 1905 with a major in philosophy.[Eaton biography](_blank)
/ref>
After graduating from McMaster he moved to Cleveland and went to work for the East Ohio Gas Company. This was one of many businesses associated with John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
. After working with East Ohio Gas and Rockefeller for two years, he established his own business in 1907, developing gas utilities which at the time were relatively underdeveloped and unconsolidated in Canada. He managed to secure natural-gas franchises in Manitoba, Canada, representing a group of New York investors. The syndicate was not able to complete its financing and folded. However, the Manitoba government was sufficiently impressed to allow Eaton to retain the franchises. Eaton formed a new holding company, the Canada Gas & Electric Corp, later consolidated into the Continental Gas & Electric Corp. in 1913.
After spending several years travelling, Eaton settled in Cleveland in 1913 and became active in many businesses. Eaton joined the Otis & Co. banking firm in 1916. In 1926 he set up an investment vehicle organized as Continental Shares, Inc., a closed end trust. In 1927 he formed Republic Steel, the 3rd-largest U.S. steel company. His business had a complex structure which some felt to be too highly leveraged. His 1929 wealth was an estimated $100 million, most of which was lost in the Great Depression.
Eaton rebuilt his fortune in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming a director (1943), then board chairman (1954), of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
; and also board chairman of the West Kentucky Coal Co. (1953).
Tower International
To affect the trading of sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...
from Eaton's Republic Steel in Cleveland for chrome ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...
primarily from the Kazakh SSR in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1954 during the United States' McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
era, Eaton's son Cyrus Eaton Jr., established the Canadian firm Tower International in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
because direct trade between the United States and the Soviet Union was unthinkable.[ In the early 1960s, Tower International proposed building numerous buildings in central Moscow including four skyscrapers which would house Moscow's International Trade Center, an eighteen hole golf course, a 600-room hotel, a 2,000-seat conference centre, numerous restaurants, apartments for foreigners, and an office complex. In early 1969, Armand Hammer obtained control of Tower International though which Hammer would have a controlling majority stake in Tower International in exchange for Hammer's ]Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviated Oxy in reference to its ticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States, and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the ...
assuming the debts of Tower International and Eaton receiving 45% of any profits from Tower International's future projects.[ In July 1972, Armand Hammer's financial wizard Dorman Commons, who was the chief financial officer at Occidental Petroleum in Los Angeles, estimated that the Moscow International Trade Center project would cost $100 million and would be a complete flop if ]détente
Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduc ...
failed. On July 31, 1972, Commons voiced his thoughts with Hammer after which Hammer fired Commons effective August 1, 1972. During détente in July 1972, Armand Hammer negotiated a twenty-year agreement with Brezhnev of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
that was signed by Hammer in April 1973 in which the Hammer controlled firms Occidental Petroleum and Tower International would export to the Soviet Union, and later Russia, phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
, which Occidental mined in northern Florida, in return for the Soviet Union, and later Russia, exporting to Hammer's firms 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 ...
that would be converted into ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
, potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. , and urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Urea serves an important r ...
. This fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
deal was to continue until Hammer's 100th birthday in 1998. JaxPort
The Jacksonville Port Authority (JPA) also known by its brand name, JAXPORT, is the independent government agency in Jacksonville, Florida, that owns and operates much of the seaport system at the Port of Jacksonville.
History
The Jacksonville P ...
at the Port of Jacksonville
The Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) is an international trade seaport on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The 14th largest container port in the United States, it carries about 18 million short tons of cargo each year and has an annu ...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, was the United States port through which this trade occurred.
Death
He died on May 9, 1979, at his home, Acadia Farm, in Northfield, Ohio.
Philanthropy
In 1920, Eaton founded the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre (220 ha) concentration of educational, cultural and medical institu ...
.
The Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on July 9, 1955, by Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
in the midst of the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict. The signatories included eleven preeminent intellectuals
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, ...
and scientists
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...
, including Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
, who signed it just days before his death on April 18, 1955. A few days after the release, philanthropist Eaton offered to sponsor a conference—called for in the manifesto—in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Eaton's birthplace. This conference was to be the first of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, held in July 1957.
Besides financial support for the Pugwash Conferences, Eaton gave money to support education in Nova Scotia, particularly in Pugwash and to Acadia University
Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...
. He supported the establishment of a game sanctuary in Nova Scotia on the Aspotogan Peninsula
The Aspotogan Peninsula () is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, separating St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The peninsula was ...
(his summer home was in Blandford, Nova Scotia
Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329). Blandford originally included the present day communities of ...
where he had his ashes buried. He donated money for the doors of St. Bartholmus Church in Blandford and 12 acres (4.9 hectares) of land in Northfield, Ohio, for the Lee Eaton Elementary School, named in memory of his daughter. He was also a financial supporter of McMaster University, the YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre (220 ha) concentration of educational, cultural and medical institu ...
and Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
. At his death in 1979, his Blandford estate was purchased by a group of businessmen from Germany. His summer home was destroyed in a fire 2015.
Awards
Eaton's 1950s efforts at rapprochement with the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
won him the 1960 Lenin Peace Prize
The International Lenin Peace Prize (russian: международная Ленинская премия мира, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a pane ...
. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1958, and was the recipient of an honorary degree from Bowling Green State University in 1969. The Pugwash Conferences and their chairman, Joseph Rotblat, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
in 1995.
Eaton married twice; first, in 1907, Margaret House (1887-1956); then Anne Kinder Jones (1922-1992) in 1957. He had seven children: Margaret Grace, Mary Adelle, Elizabeth Ann, Anna Bishop, Cyrus S. Jr., Augusta Farlee, and MacPherson. He died in Ohio and had his ashes buried in Blandford, Nova Scotia.
Legacy
* Cyrus Eaton Elementary School, Pugwash, Nova Scotia
* Lee Eaton Elementary School, Northfield Village, Ohio (The primary school on Ledge Rd. sits on twelve acres of land donated by Mr. Cyrus Eaton in memory of his first born daughter Margret G. Eaton also known as Lee by the family.)
He is the subject of Carol Moore-Ede's 1977 documentary film '' The Prophet from Pugwash''.["The Prophet from Pugwash". '']Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'', November 5, 1977.
Notes
References
*
External links
"Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter E". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 7 April 2011
interviewed by Mike Wallace
Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...
on ''The Mike Wallace Interview
''The Mike Wallace Interview'' is a series of 30-minute television interviews conducted by host Mike Wallace from 1957 to 1960. From 1957 to 1959, they were carried by the ABC American Broadcasting Company television network, and in 1959–1960, ...
''.
*
Further reading
* Gleiser, Marcus, ''The World of Cyrus Eaton'' Kent State University Press, 2010; a biography, first published in 1966.
* Gibson, M. Allen, ''Beautiful Upon the Mountain: A Portrait of Cyrus Eaton'' Lancelot Press, Windsor, Nova Scotia, 1977.
Cover of ''Time'' magazine February 24, 1930.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Cyrus S.
1883 births
1979 deaths
People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
People of New England Planter descent
20th-century American railroad executives
American steel industry businesspeople
Canadian businesspeople
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Colgate University alumni
McMaster University alumni
People from Cleveland
Lenin Peace Prize recipients
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Businesspeople from Nova Scotia
Canadian activists
People from Northfield, Ohio