Kenneth Aldred Spencer (January 25, 1902 – February 19, 1960) was a Kansas coal mine owner who transformed a government surplus factory into the world's biggest
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
producer. Money from his and his wife's estate was donated to philanthropies throughout
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
.
Early life
Spencer was born in
Columbus, Kansas
Columbus is the second largest city and county seat of Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,929. It is located approximately 15 miles south-southwest of Pittsburg.
History
The first ...
but grew up in
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...
.
Spencer graduated from the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
in 1926, majoring in engineering and geology
and went into his father's business of
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company in
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...
. Spencer moved to the Kansas City area in 1939 to establish offices for his companies.
Career
As a trained geologist and engineer Spencer patented processes for extracting by-products from coal which led to the establishment of the Mineral Products Company of Pittsburg.
In 1941 the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
contacted him about operating a
weapons-grade
Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon or has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Plutonium and uranium in grades normally used in nucle ...
ammonia nitrate plant near
Crestline, Kansas
Crestline is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 116. Crestline is located on U.S. Route 400 east of Columbus. Crestline has a pos ...
that would become the Jayhawk Ordnance Works. He would say later:
:"They wanted us to build and operate a big basic chemical plant. I didn't know about operating such a plant, but they told us anyone who could operate an electric shovel, move 30 or 40 feet of overburden to get an 18-inch seam of coal, and make it pay, could operate anything."
He set up the Military Chemical Works, Inc. as a subsidiary of Pittsburg & Midway with himself as president and built the plant by 1943 with it producing 14,500 tons a month.
U.S. ordnance facilities were placed in the mid-U.S. during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Other plants to be built and owned by others included the
Kansas Ordnance Plant at
Parsons, Kansas, the
Sunflower Ordnance Plant at
De Soto, Kansas
De Soto is a city in Johnson and Leavenworth counties in the U.S. state of Kansas, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,118.
History
The land that would become De Soto was ...
, the Ozark Ordnance Plant at
El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884.
El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...
.
After the war with help from
J.H. Whitney & Company he entered into a lease with an option to buy (which he did in 1951) the plant to use the ammonia nitrate as
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
under the new name of Spencer Chemical. He succeeded his father as head of the Pittsburg & Midway. It was so successful that he was able to endow a foundation by 1949.
Spencer would also buy plants in
Calumet City, Illinois
Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409.
Etymology
The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for ...
;
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...
;
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
;
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
and
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...
.
Spencer was one of the nine original founders of
MRIGlobal
MRIGlobal is an American independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, with regional offices in Virginia and Maryland. In addition to its own research laboratories, MRIGlobal operates research faciliti ...
(formerly Midwest Research Institute) in 1944. Its first mission was finding peaceful uses of
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
. He would be chairman of the board of trustees from 1954 to 1957. Spencer also donated money for the Kenneth A. Spencer Laboratories Building and the Spencer Auditorium at MRIGlobal.
Following the success of the Spencer Chemical Company, they formed the Spencer Foundation in 1949. When Kenneth died in 1960, she liquidated the companies by selling Spencer to
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
. She kept their various oil and gas leases in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. In 1972 she decided to finally sell the oil and gas leases to Rex D. Archer, an employee that Kenneth hired in 1955 to find these leases. Such loyalty, a Spencer family trait, was reflected in Helen's further works as head of the Kenneth A. and Helen F. Spencer Foundation until her death in 1982.
The Spencer Chemical Corporation name disappeared following its purchase by the Pittsburg and Midway Company, which continued to operate under that name until its eventual owner
Chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* '' Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
formally consolidated its mining operations under the Chevron Mining name.
Personal life
Helen Elizabeth Foresman (November 8, 1902 – February 15, 1982) was born in
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...
and grew up in
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
and spent high school in
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...
where she married Kenneth Spencer on January 6, 1927. They moved to
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
in 1940.
Spencer died on February 19, 1960, at St. Francis Hospital in
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...
. He was buried at
Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Kenneth A.
1902 births
1960 deaths
People from Columbus, Kansas
People from Pittsburg, Kansas
University of Kansas alumni
People from Kansas City, Missouri
Philanthropists from the Kansas City metropolitan area
20th-century American philanthropists