James Gamble (3 April 1803 – 29 April 1891) was an Irish-American soap industrialist. He was the co-founder of

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

Company in 1837, along with William Procter.

Early life

James Gamble was born at the Graan near

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

in County Fermanagh, Ireland and went to

Portora Royal School Portora Royal School located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the public schools founded by the royal charter in 1608, by James I, making it one of the oldest schools in Ireland at the time of its closure. Origina ...

. Gamble emigrated to America with his parents in 1819. He arrived in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio, on a flat boat down the Ohio River destined for Illinois. His family stopped in Cincinnati when he was seized with an illness. Staying in the city, his father established a nursery and Gamble apprenticed as a soap maker. He attended

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

, graduated in 1824, and manufactured soap on his own in 1828.

Procter & Gamble

Gamble went into business with William Procter after they became related by marriage. Gamble's wife Elizabeth Ann Norris was the sister of Procter's wife Olivia Norris. The pair's father-in-law, Alexander Norris, first suggested that the two go into business together in 1837 and consequently

was born.

Death

Gamble died at his residence in Cincinnati on 29 April 1891 from natural causes. He is interred in

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham L ...

in Cincinnati. Procter, who preceded his partner Gamble in death, is also buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.

Family life

Gamble and Elizabeth Ann (Norris) Gamble had ten children, including James Norris Gamble (9 August 1836 – 2 July 1932) who became Vice President of Procter & Gamble and was the chemist who devised the formula for Ivory soap. James Norris Gamble married Margaret Penrose; he died in his sleep on 2 July 1932 in Cincinnati and is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery. Another son, David Gamble, built the Gamble House in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. Gamble's grandson William married Franzeska Wilhelmina (Fanny) Nast, the daughter of the William Nast, a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher. Fanny was the first woman to graduate from

German Wallace College The history of Baldwin Wallace University dates back to 1828, when co-founder John Baldwin settled in present-day Berea, Ohio. His founding eventually established Baldwin–Wallace College. This founding of present-day Baldwin Wallace Universit ...

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio and is a western suburb of Cleveland. The population was 19,093 at the 2010 census. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University, as well as the training facility for the Cleveland ...

. As one of Cincinnati's biggest proponents of Methodism, Gamble was a prominent member of Westwood Methodist Church, and donated money to construct Methodist churches throughout Greater Cincinnati.

Notes

External links

History of P&G

Typhoid Mary and other curiosities in Irish biography

1803 births 1891 deaths British emigrants to the United States Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Kenyon College alumni Businesspeople from Cincinnati People from Enniskillen American people of Scotch-Irish descent People educated at Portora Royal School Procter & Gamble people American company founders Irish company founders 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Irish businesspeople {{Business-bio-stub