Thomas Thorkildsen (1869-1950) was an American businessman. He became known as the "Borax King" after his ownership of borax mines in California made him a millionaire.Cecilia Rasmussen
'Borax King' Cleaned Up, but Died Washed Up
'' The Los Angeles Times'', March 12, 2000

Biography

Early life

Thomas Thorkildsen was born in 1869 in Wisconsin. His father was a lumberjack who had immigrated from Denmark.

Career

He worked for the Pacific Coast Borax Company, owned by Francis Marion Smith, in Chicago and later at the Death Valley, where Stephen Mather was his boss. He resigned in 1898 and purchased a borax mine in the

Frazier Mountain Frazier Mountain ( Samala: ''Toshololo'') is a broad, pine-forested peak in the Transverse Ranges System, within the Los Padres National Forest in northeastern Ventura County, California. At , Frazier Mnt. is the sixteenth-highest mountain in the ...

, Ventura County. With Mather, he founded the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company.Alan Pollack, Kim Stephens, E. J. Stephens, ''Legendary Locals of the Santa Clarita Valley'', Arcadia Publishing, 2012, p. 3

/ref> In 1905, he purchased another borax mine in Tick Canyon Formation, Tick Canyon, a canyon in the Santa Clarita Valley. He became a millionnaire thanks to this second mine. Additionally, he became known as the "Borax King."

Personal life

He married Dora Garinger. In 1912, they moved into a Craftsman-style estate at the top of Alpine Drive overlooking Coldwater Canyon in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

.Marc Wanamaker, ''Early Beverly Hills'', Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p. 4

/ref> It spanned seventeen acres. A year later, they purchased eleven more acres adjacent to it. They sold it to Kirk B. Johnson, an oilman, in 1921. The house was torn down and subdivided in the 1960s. When he divorced, he moved into an estate in Los Feliz, Los Angeles called Briarcliff Manor, which became known for extravagant parties. He died in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorkildsen, Thomas 1869 births 1950 deaths Businesspeople from Wisconsin Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California American people of Danish descent Businesspeople from Los Angeles People from Los Feliz, Los Angeles