William Cooper Procter was an American manufacturer and philanthropist.
Background
He was born on August 25, 1862 in Glendale, Ohio, United States, a residential suburb of Cincinnati, and lived there his entire life. He was one of five children but the only son of William Alexander, and Charlotte Elizabeth (Jackson) Procter, and the grandson of William and Olivia (Norris) Procter. The grandfather immigrated to Cincinnati from Herefordshire, England, in 1830 and engaged in the manufacture of candles, an enterprise soon to be merged (1837) with the soap-making business of his wife's brother-in-law, James Gamble, to form the soap-making firm of Procter & Gamble.
Education
William Cooper graduated from Princeton in 1883.
Career
After studies he worked in all departments of the plant of his father and in so doing became interested in bettering the working and living conditions of the employees. In the result of his actions, they were motivated by a strong humanitarian sense and a desire to develop the cooperation in insuring the prosperity of the company.
Under the successive presidencies of William Alexander and William Cooper Procter the business Procter & Gamble underwent great expansion. The partnership, originally producing oil for lamps and machinery as well as candles and soap, came to make soap its chief product. When the corporate form was adopted in 1890, William Cooper Procter became general manager and succeeded his father as president in 1907. At this time the firm had two factories, that in Cincinnati and one in Kansas City. By 1934 it had established others in New York, Georgia, Texas, Maryland, California, Canada, and England. Ivory soap, first made in 1879, became the most famous of its products and the slogan "It floats" and "99 44/100 per cent pure" was one of the most familiar in the field of advertising.
He was commanding officer of the 1th Regiment of Infantry of the Ohio National Guard, a member of the Council of National Defense (1917 - 18), chairman of the warchest campaign in Cincinnati and Hamilton County (1918), chairman of the Cincinnati chapter of the Red Cross from 1914 until his death, general chairman of the community chest of Cincinnati and Hamilton County in 1927, trustee of Princeton University, president of the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts, trustee of the Charles P. Taft Foundation, and chairman of the national committee organized by Secretary of Commerce Hoover in 1928 for greater efficiency in community-chest organization and work.
He died of bronchial pneumonia in Cincinnati.
Achievements
William Cooper Procter was the head of Procter & Gamble, through his influence the company became the first large concern, where pensions and security in case of sickness and disability were provided, and employee representation on the board of directors was permitted. He also guaranteed the employees forty-eight weeks of work each calendar year, thus establishing good relations between the company and employees were the immediate personal concern of Procter throughout his fifty years' service.
William Cooper was a well-known figure in its national conferences and made substantial gifts to its hospitals and schools in America and in foreign lands. Other beneficiaries were the Children's Hospital in Cincinnati and Princeton University.
Politics
A Republican, he was active in local politics and entered the national scene in 1920 when he managed the campaign of Gen. Leonard Wood for the Republican presidential nomination.
Personality
He was a modest man and had strong sense of public responsibility.
Connections
On January 1, 1889, he married Jane Eliza, daughter of Thomas Johnston of Glendale, Ohio. He had no children.
