Background
Firestone, Harvey Samuel was born on December 20, 1868 in Columbiana Company, Ohio, United States. Son of Benjamin and Catherine (Flickinger) Firestone.
Firestone, Harvey Samuel was born on December 20, 1868 in Columbiana Company, Ohio, United States. Son of Benjamin and Catherine (Flickinger) Firestone.
Education high school and business college. Honorary Doctor Business Administration, Mount Union College, Alliance, O. Scroll of distinction, Spencerian School of Commercial Accounts and Finance, Cleveland, Ohio
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, 1934.
Firestone"s paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Hans Feuerstein, immigrated from Berg/Alsace/France, in 1753, and settled in Pennsylvania. Three of Nicholas"s sons – including Harvey"s great-great-grandfather, Johan Nicholas – changed their surname to "Firestone", the English translation of the family"s German name "Feuerstein". Firestone"s birthplace was moved years later to Greenfield Village, a 90-acre (360,000 m2) historical site founded by Henry Ford.
On November 20, 1895, Firestone married Idabelle Smith.
They eventually had seven children. Notable great-grandchildren include: Andrew Firestone, Nick Firestone, and William Clay Ford, Junior.
(the son of Henry Ford"s grandson and Harvey and Idabelle"s granddaughter Martha). After graduating from Columbiana High School, Firestone worked for the Columbus Buggy Company in Columbus, Ohio before starting his own company in 1890, making rubber tires for carriages.
In 1900 he soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles and then founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a pioneer in the mass production of tires.
In 1926 he published a book, Men and Rubber: The Story of Business, which was written in collaboration with Samuel Crowther. In 1938, Firestone died of coronary thrombosis. Firestone, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison were generally considered the three leaders in American industry at the time, and often worked and vacationed together.
All three were part of a very exclusive group titled ""
The main library of Princeton University is named Firestone Library in his honor.
lieutenant is among the largest university libraries in the world. On August 3, 1950, the Harvey South Firestone Memorial, a large sculpture ensemble dedicated to Firestone, created by sculptors James Earle Fraser and Donald De Lue was dedicated.
lieutenant is located at Bridgestone Firestone Incorporated., 1200 Firestone Parkway in Akron, Ohio. In 1974, Firestone was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio, is named in his honor.
There is a Harvey South Firestone Park in Columbiana, Ohio.
Member Ohio Council National Defense, World War, also instrumental in organizing rubber division of War Industries Board.
Married Idabelle Smith, November 20, 1895. Children: Harvey Samuel, Russell Allen, Leonard Kimball, Raymond Christy, Roger Stanley, Elizabeth Idabelle.