Henry W. Oliver (February 25, 1840 – February 8, 1904) was an American

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

Biography

Henry W. Oliver was born in Ireland in 1840. Two years later his family settled in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Oliver began working at the age of thirteen as a messenger boy for the National Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh. Oliver worked at various jobs until 1861 when he served in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In 1863, he formed a partnership with William J. Lewis and John Phillips to create the firm of Lewis, Oliver and Phillips to manufacture nuts and bolts on a small scale. By 1868, two of his brothers joined the firm and in 1880, they formed the firm, Oliver Brothers and Phillips. By this time, the company was one of the largest manufacturers of bar iron and iron specialties in the United States. In 1888, the company incorporated under the name of Oliver Iron and Steel Company. Oliver was involved in working with the Mesabi ore region near Lake Superior in Minnesota, spinning off the

Oliver Iron Mining Company The Oliver Iron Mining Company was a mining company operating in Minnesota, United States. It was one of the most prominent companies in the early decades of mining on the Mesabi Range. As a division of U.S. Steel, Oliver dwarfed its competitors ...

from his other interests in a venture with the

Carnegie Steel Company Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was forme ...

. The Lake Superior iron ore industry became the basis for United States Steel. Oliver helped to develop improved processes for steel making, brought about a new and improved design for blast furnaces, and assisted in helping to finance several of Pittsburgh's large steel industries. Much of his energy was devoted to bringing new railroad routes into Pittsburgh (including the

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio in the H ...

as well as the

South Pennsylvania Railroad The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed, but never completed, Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth century. Parts of the right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpik ...

) and to providing new terminal belt lines for the city. He also helped to develop the steel freight car (in place of the small wooden cars previously used). Perhaps his most important action, however, was spearhead efforts to "slack water" the Ohio River so that Pittsburgh had a transportation mode that was reliable year round rather than being dependent on the river's vagaries.Under strong pressure from Pittsburgh businessmen, the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1874 and 1929 placed a system of dams with locks on the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to its junction with the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois. Canalization of the Ohio River guaranteed a nine-foot navigation channel year-round, independent of the vagaries of seasonal and meteorological flow fluctuations. With the successful construction of the slackwater system, the Corps accomplished complete and permanent control of the Ohio River. He would become politically active with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in Pittsburgh. He married Edith Cassidy in 1862. The Olivers had one daughter. Five years after his death, Oliver's brother

George T. Oliver __NOTOC__ George Tener Oliver (January 26, 1848January 22, 1919) was an American lawyer, publisher, and Republican party politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1909 until 1917. Ea ...

became a United States Senator.

References

Oliver Iron and Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records Finding Aid
1863-1930, 1959, AIS.1964.06, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

External links

*Evans, Henry Oliver
''Iron Pioneer: Henry W. Oliver. 1840-1904''
1942, E.P. Dutton & Company. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Henry W. 1840 births 1904 deaths People from County Tyrone Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) American people of Irish descent People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American steel industry businesspeople Burials at Allegheny Cemetery 19th-century American businesspeople