Herbert Champion Harrison (October 4, 1876 – March 6, 1927), is credited with the invention and development of the modern hexagon cellular "honeycomb" automotive radiator and was the founder of the Harrison Radiator Company in 1910. Born in

Calcutta, India Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

to British parents, his father was the Controller General of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. One of 12 children, Harrison’s siblings included the British civil servant and MP

Francis Capel Harrison Francis Capel Harrison (21 June 1863 – 10 September 1938) was a British civil servant and Conservative Party politician. The second son of Edward Francis Harrison of the Indian Civil Service (ICS), he was educated at Rugby School and Balliol ...

, CSI. Harrison was educated in England at the

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and graduated from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1900 with an honours degree in Chemistry. In 1907, Harrison moved to the United States as Vice President of the Susquehanna Smelting Company, which moved to

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 2019. Its name d ...

, where Harrison founded the Harrison Radiator Company (predecessor to

Harrison Radiator Corporation Harrison Radiator Corporation was an early manufacturer of automotive radiators and heat exchangers for crewed spacecraft and guided missiles, as well as various cooling equipment for automotive, marine, industrial, nuclear, and aerospace applicat ...

) in 1910. Harrison Radiator operated as an independent supplier to the growing

American automotive industry The automotive industry in the United States began in the 1890s and, as a result of the size of the domestic market and the use of mass production, rapidly evolved into the largest in the world. The United States was the first country in the w ...

until sold to Alfred P. Sloan's United Motors Company in 1917. United Motors was acquired one year later by its largest customer, General Motors. Harrison continued as President of the company until his death in London in 1927. The company became Delphi Thermal Systems in 1999, but was repurchased by General Motors as part of its components holding company in October 2009. Today it makes radiators and air conditioners. On November 17, 1900, Harrison married Florence Maria Kemp in London, England, and they had three sons: Arthur Brydges Branfill Harrison, Charles Aylett Harrison and John H Harrison. Following his death, Mrs. Harrison remained in Lockport and married the Rev. Henry (Harry) Zwicker, rector of Grace Church, Lockport, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Herbert C. American businesspeople 1876 births 1927 deaths British people in colonial India British emigrants to the United States