William Bateman Leeds (September 19, 1861June 23, 1908) was an American businessman. He dominated the

tin plate Tinplate consists of sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rusting. Before the advent of cheap milled steel, the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture ...

industry, becoming known as the "Tin Plate King". Together with William Henry Moore,

Daniel G. Reid Daniel Gray Reid (August 1, 1858 – January 17, 1925) was an American industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. Early in his career he manufactured tin plate with The American Tin Plate Company, and later U.S. Steel. He was known as the "Tinp ...

and James Hobart Moore, he became known as one of the 'big four' or 'tin plate crowd' in American industry.

Early life

Leeds was born in 1861, to parents Noah Smith Leeds and Hannah Star Leeds in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

. After receiving an education at public schools, Leeds worked as a florist. In 1883, he married Jeannette Gaar, a relative of Harry Miller, general superintendent of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

Career

In 1883, Leeds joined an engineering corps. Three years later, Leeds was employed by the

Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad The Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad was part of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway system. History The Richmond and Miami Railroad was chartered in Indiana on January 19, 1846 to build from Richmond (IN), Richmond southeast ...

, where he became division superintendent in 1890. Leeds first went into the tin-plate industry with partners who invested about $250,000, and the company failed. Later, Leeds founded the American Tin Plate Co. in 1898, with his partners Daniel G. Reid, William H. Moore and James H. Moore. The company grew to consist of over 200 companies, and gained control of as much as 90% of the tinplate industry. The company expanded to comprise over 28 mills in Elwood.

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

passed a tin tariff, in part to protect their business. They organized the National Steel Corporation in 1899 to provide steel to the tin company, with about $50 million in stock. The company sold for as much as $40 million to

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

. Leeds was also involved in founding the National Steel Corporation, American Sheet Steel Company and the American Steel Hoop Company He became president of

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

in 1902. In 1904, he was ousted from the company after a disagreement with his partners. Leeds was heavily involved with

National Biscuit Company Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

Diamond Match Company The Diamond Match Company has its roots in several nineteenth century companies. In the early 1850s, Edward Tatnall of Wilmington, Delaware was given an English recipe for making matches by a business acquaintance, William R. Smith. In 1853, Tatn ...

, Tobacco Products Corporation and

American Can Company The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amon ...

. Additionally, he was the director of the Audit Co. of New York, Elwood,

St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the ...

Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in ...

Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two Worl ...

, United States Mortgage and Trust Co., Anderson and Lapelle Railroad Company, Nassau Gas, Heat and Power Co., Nassau Light and Power Co., and the Windsor Trust Co. The

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

was named after him. Leeds was an avid yachtsman, and had membership in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the Seawanhaka Corinthian, Brooklyn,

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Larc ...

, and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Yacht Clubs. He maintained membership in the Meadow Brook club,

Automobile Club of America The Automobile Club of America was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899. The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership. History On June 7, 1899, a group of gentlemen auto racers met at the W ...

, and

The Brook The Brook is a private club located at 111 East 54th Street in Manhattan inNew York City. It was founded in 1903 by a group of prominent men who belonged to other New York City private clubs, such as the Knickerbocker Club and the Union Club.

club. The 'Billy Bi' soup was named after him. Leeds was also an avid horseman.

Pearl necklace

Leeds purchased a pearl necklace for his wife. The necklace cost $360,000 when he bought it, but he only paid the ten percent tariff on pearls, rather than the sixty percent tariff on a pearl necklace. The United States filed suit, and for several years, as the case was litigated, the "Leeds pearls were the most famous jewels in America."

Personal life

On August 16, 1883, Leeds married his first wife, Jeanette Irene Gaar, in

Wayne, Indiana Wayne is an unincorporated community in Webster Township, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States ...

. She was a relative of Harry Miller, superintendent of

. On March 15, 1886, their only child, Rudolph Gaar Leeds (d. November 21, 1964), was born in Indiana. He was the proprietor of The Richmond Palladium and The Indianapolis Sun, two major newspapers in Indiana. On August 2, 1900, Leeds married his second wife, Nonie May Stewart-Worthington, whose first husband was George Ely Worthington (1872–1950), grandson of industrialist George Worthington. On September 19, 1902, their only child, William Bateman Leeds Jr., was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On June 23, 1908, Leeds died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. Leeds was 46. Leeds is buried in Richmond, Indiana. His second wife, Nonie, went on to marry

Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark ( el, Χριστόφορος; 10 August 1888 – 21 January 1940) was the fifth and youngest son and youngest child of King George I of Greece, belonging to a dynasty which mounted and lost the throne of ...

, an uncle of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

. and took the name “Anastasia” upon joining the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

, becoming known as “Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark”. Nonie and Leeds's son, William Jr., later married one of Prince Christopher's nieces,

Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia (22 August 1903 – 17 September 1965) was the younger daughter of Grand Duke George Mihailovich of Russia and Princess Maria Georgievna of Greece and Denmark. She is known for recognizing Anna Anderson as Gra ...

. The couple were married in Paris, and lived in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. They had one daughter before divorcing in March 1930.

References

External links