John Lanzel Kaul (1866–1931) was an American businessman. He was involved in the timber industry and was a prominent figure in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Kaul was born in

St. Marys, Pennsylvania St. Marys is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is 12,429 as of 2019. Originally a small town inhabited by mostly Bavarian Roman Catholics, it was founded December 8, 1842. It is home to Str ...

on October 9, 1866 to Andrew Kaul and Walburga (Lanzel) Kaul. He was a student at Rock Hill College in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and also took a business course at

Eastman Business College The Eastman Business College was a business school located in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It operated from 1859 until it closed in 1931. At the height of its success, the school was one of the largest commercial colleges in the United St ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. When he was 19 years old, Mr. Kaul started work at his father's lumber company, and in 1888 put in charge of the operation of the hardwood mill of the company. In 1889 he moved to the south to locate a yellow pine tract for operation, and he settled in

Hollins, Alabama Hollins is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Clay County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 517 as of the 2020 census. History Hollins is named after an official who worked for the Kaul Lumber Company. Hollins b ...

in 1890. He later moved to Birmingham, where he served as the president of Kaul Lumber Company. Kaul served as president of the Southern Pine Association and was a pioneer in the activities to assure conservation of the national timber supply. He worked with

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

, then United States Forester, to greatly reduce practices that wasted wood. He also belonged to the National Lumberman's Committee on Forestry and was chairman of the Southern Pine Forestry Committee. Kaul was a consistent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, but he did not seek public office that would have distracted from his lumber manufacturing and sales interests. He served in a national capacity as a member of the American Commission to study rural credits in Europe; as a member of the State Board of Forestry, and as chairman of the Park Commission of the City of Birmingham. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Kaul served as a member of the Southern Pine War Service Committee of the War Industries Board, and was also chairman of the Birmingham and Jefferson County Victory Loan Committees. Kaul was a member of the

Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, Incorporated is a fraternal and service organization whose members are involved in the forests products industry. Hoo-Hoo has members in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia a ...

. In an article entitled "Parasite Kills Self", the Southern Worker newspaper said the following about Kaul's death:

John Lanzel Kaul, capitalist, of Birmingham, Ala., killed himself after a spree at Atlantic City by jumping from a window. Kaul was one of the most vicious labor haters in the South, was always among the worst enemies of any attempt on the part of workers employed in his lumber industry to organize. Kaul was formerly the president of the Birmingham Chapter of the Red Cross, and engaged in other “patriotic” activities that were safe for him. The Birmingham plutes who head lynch mobs will miss their drunken friend.

Whereas radical newspapers slandered him, the Alabama State Commission of Forestry praised him for his "ability, energy and devotion to duty contributed greatly to the advancement of forestry...his public service, and splendid personal qualities were held in highest regard and esteem by the membership of this commission." The Marion County News (Hamilton, Alabama), 03 Dec 1931, Thursday, Page 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, John 1866 births Year of death missing American businesspeople in timber American manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama People from St. Marys, Pennsylvania