George Fox Steedman (1871–1940) was an inventor and businessman. He was the president of Curtis Manufacturing Co., a foundry and machine shop, and built

Casa del Herrero Casa del Herrero (also known as the Steedman Estate) is a historic house museum and botanical garden located in Montecito near Santa Barbara, California. It was designed by George Washington Smith, and is considered one of the finest examples o ...

Life

Steedman attended the Manual Training School and Washington University in St. Louis, and then graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1892. He became president of the family pneumatic machinery business, Curtis Manufacturing Company, in 1903. Steedman married Carrie Robb Howard in 1903, and their two daughters, Katherine and Medora, were born respectively in 1904 and 1909. Steedman retired from Curtis Manufacturing Co. on Armistice Day, 1918. In the 1920s he and his wife built

in California as a summer home, first moving into the house on the day of the

1925 Santa Barbara earthquake The 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake hit the area of Santa Barbara, California on June 29, with a moment magnitude between 6.5 and 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (''Violent''). It resulted in 13 deaths and destroyed the historic center ...

. In 1930 they made it their permanent residence. After Steedman died in 1940, Carrie Steedman remained in the house until her death in 1962. Steedman and his wife are interred at Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Philanthropy

* In 1926 George Fox Steedman and his sister-in-law established the James Harrison Steedman Traveling Fellowship in Architecture at Washington University in memory of his late brother. * Steedman endowed the George Fox Steedman Architectural Collection, an architectural library at the

St. Louis Public Library The St. Louis Public Library is a municipal public library system in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It operates sixteen locations, including the main Central Library location. History In 1865, Ira Divoll, the superintendent of the St. Louis ...

, in 1928. The library contains about 1500 books, and Steedman left an endowment so the library can continue expanding the collection. Some of the books date back to the 16th century.

Family

Steedman was the middle of three brothers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steedman, George Fox 1871 births 1940 deaths American businesspeople 20th-century American inventors Washington University in St. Louis alumni Harvard University alumni People from St. Louis Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery