Frank Bestow Wiborg (April 30, 1855 – May 12, 1930) was a businessman from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

who, with Levi Addison Ault, created the ink manufacturer Ault & Wiborg Company.

Early life

He was born on April 30, 1855 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was a son of Susan Isidora ( Bestow) Wiborg and Henry Paulinus Wiborg, a Norwegian immigrant. He attended the Chickering Scientific and Classical Institute, a public high school in Cincinnati, and graduated in 1874. He worked for Levi Ault to pay his way through school.

Career

After graduating, Ault and Wiborg became business partners, founding the Ault & Wiborg printing ink company. By 40, he was a multimillionaire. The firm prospered with the development of colored inks based on coal-dye tars and the introduction of

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, and expanded until its operations in multiple cities made it the world's largest ink manufacturer of its day. Wiborg later became the Assistant

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

and Labor in the

Taft administration The presidency of William Howard Taft began on March 4, 1909, when William Howard Taft was inaugurated as 27th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1913. Taft, was a Republican from Ohio. The protégé and chosen successor of Pr ...

Later life

Wiborg devoted most of his leisure time in his later years to writing books, including ''The Travels of an Unofficial Attaché'', published in 1904, ''A Commercial Traveller in South America'', published in 1905, and ''Printing Ink: A History with a Treatise on Modern Methods of Manufacture and Use'', published in 1926. Shortly before his death, he was working on a second volume of ''Printing Ink.''

Personal life

In 1882, Wiborg married Adeline Moulton Sherman (1859–1917), the daughter of Sarah Elvira ( Moulton) Sherman and banker

Hoyt Sherman Major Hoyt Sherman (November 21, 1827 – January 25, 1904), a member of the prominent Sherman family, was an American banker. Biography Hoyt Sherman was born in 1827 in Lancaster, Ohio, the son of Charles R. Sherman, Judge of the Ohio S ...

and a niece of General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

and Senator

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...

. Together they had three daughters: * Sara Sherman Wiborg (1883–1975), who married

Gerald Murphy Gerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularly ...

, son of Patrick Francis Murphy (whose family owned the

Mark Cross Company Mark Cross is an American luxury leather goods brand. Founded in 1845, the company started as a bridle, harness, and saddle maker before transitioning to luxury leather goods. History Mark Cross opened its doors in Boston in 1845, eventually movi ...

), in 1915. *

Mary Hoyt Wiborg Mary Hoyt Wiborg (January 28, 1888 – March 27, 1964) was an American playwright, art patron, and socialite. She wrote the 1922 play ''Taboo'' that starred Paul Robeson. Wiborg was born in Cincinnati to businessman Frank Bestow Wiborg. Her mot ...

(1888–1964), a playwright who wrote the 1922 play ''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'' that starred

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

. * Olga Wiborg (1890–1937), who married

Sidney Webster Fish Sidney Webster Fish (March 16, 1885 – February 5, 1950) was an American lawyer and military officer who retired from the law and moved to California, becoming a rancher at the Palo Corona Ranch. Early life Fish was born on March 16, 1885, in N ...

, a son of

Stuyvesant Fish Stuyvesant Fish (June 24, 1851 – April 10, 1923) was an American businessman and member of the Fish family who served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad. He owned grand residences in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, entertain ...

in 1915, in East Hampton. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at his home at 756

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on May 12, 1930.

East Hampton, New York

The Wiborg family spent summer vacations in the

Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

, renting rooms and cottages in

Amagansett Amagansett is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the Hamlet (New York), hamlet by the same name in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York ...

and East Hampton Village before purchasing 600 acres just west of the

Maidstone Club The Maidstone Club is a private country club on the Atlantic Ocean in the village of East Hampton, New York. Maidstone has both an 18-hole and nine-hole private golf course. History The Club derives its name from the original name for East Ha ...

from Mrs. Marshall Smith in spring 1909. He expanded an existing cottage and eventually, in 1912, built a 30-room stucco mansion, known as The Dunes, that was among the largest in the area.

Writings

*''The Travels of an Unofficial Attaché'' (Privately printed, 1904)
''A Commercial Traveller in South America''
(New York: McClure, Phillips & Co. 1905) *''Printing Ink: A History with a Treatise on Modern Methods of Manufacture and Use'' (New York and London: Harper, 1926)

References

External links

Gerald and Sara Murphy Papers
which contain Frank Wiborg's diaries, at the

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiborg, Frank Bestow 1855 births 1930 deaths People from East Hampton (town), New York American people of Norwegian descent Deaths from pneumonia in New York City