Edwin Binney

Edwin Binney (born 1866 in Westchester County, New York, died 1934) is best known for his invention (along with his cousin C. Harold Smith) of the Crayola crayon.

In 1885, Binney took control of his father's business, Peeksill Chemical Co. While experimenting with a mixture of slate waste, cement, and talc, Binney created the first dustless white chalk. The invention was awarded a gold medal at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1902. It was only one year later, in 1903, that Binney & Smith produced the first box of Crayola crayons.

Edwin Binney was also a community activist. He was responsible for Fort Pierce's becoming a port city, and in 1929 kept the St. Lucie County Bank from succumbing to the poor economic conditions present at that time.

Binney had four children with his wife, Alice Stead Binney - Dorothy, Helen, Mary, and Edwin Jr. In 1911, Dorothy married publisher George P. Putnam, who later married aviator Amelia Earhart.

References

*"Edwin Binney: The Founder of Crayola Crayons (Lives and Times)" by Jennifer Blizin Gillis (Heinemann, April 2005)

External links

*The St. Lucie Historical Society, Inc.: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flslchs/EdwinBinney.htm