James Joseph "Jimmy" Ling (December 31, 1922 – December 17, 2004) was an American businessman and former head of

Ling-Temco-Vought Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2000. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, am ...

corporation. While at its helm, Ling used LTV funds to purchase a large number of corporations, and was one of the more famous of the 1960s conglomerate managers. As with other conglomerates such as ITT,

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. ...

Teledyne Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate Al ...

, and

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

, higher

interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, th ...

s and inflation destroyed LTV in the 1970s.

Biography

Ling was the son of a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

convert who later entered a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

monastery. Ling's mother died when he was young, and he lived for a time with an aunt in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. He failed to graduate from a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

high school but became a master electrician after training at a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

school in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. In 1947 he founded his own Dallas electrical contracting business, Ling Electric Company, where he lived in the rear of the shop. After incorporating and taking his company public in 1955, Ling found innovative ways to market his stock, including door-to-door soliciting and selling from a booth at the

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

. In 1956 Ling bought L.M. Electronics, followed by Altec Electronics in 1959 and

Temco Aircraft The Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), also known as Temco Aircraft Corporation, was a U.S.-based manufacturing company located in Dallas, Texas, USA. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate Ling-Temco-V ...

in 1960. In 1961, he bought

Chance Vought Aircraft Chance may refer to: Mathematics and Science * In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function). * ''Chance'' (statistics magazine) Places * Chance, Kentucky, US * Chance, Mary ...

, merging his interests into

. His empire fell apart after he acquired the money-losing Jones & Laughlin Steel Company in 1970. He had to sell subsidiaries to try to stanch the ensuing financial hemorrhage. After

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

issues arose, bankers forced Ling's resignation later in 1970. Ling formed several companies after his time at LTV, but none were as successful. His first comeback try, Omega-Alpha, went bankrupt in 1975. Ling died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

at his Dallas, Texas home in 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, James 1922 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Dallas People from Hugo, Oklahoma Military personnel from Oklahoma 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from cancer in Texas

Biography

References

Further reading

External links