Isaac Rice

Isaac Leopold Rice (February 22, 1850 in Wachenheim, Bavaria – November 2, 1915) was a U.S. inventor and a chess patron and author.

Biography

Born in Germany he emigrated to the United States in the second half of the 19th century to the USA. He was educated at the Central High School in Philadelphia. He graduated in 1880 from the Columbia Law School with the degree of LL.B. In 1902 he received from Bates College the degree of LL.D. [ [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter25.html Chess Notes by Edward Winter ] at www.chesshistory.com] He attended Columbia University and practiced as an attorney specializing in corporate law and patents.

In 1899 he founded the Electric Boat Company in order to build to completion John Philip Holland's designs for the first United States Navy submarine, the "Holland VI". The Holland VI was purchased by the United States government on 11 April 1900 and commissioned for Navy service 12 October 1900 with the initial designation of USS|Holland|SS-1|6 and the subsequent designation of SS-1. This was the United States Navy's first submarine. This pioneering submarine was the catalyst in the creation of the Electric Boat Company founded on 07 February 1899. During World War I, Rice's company (Electric Boat) and its subsidiaries built 85 Navy submarines and 722 submarine chasers. Electric Boat is the parent company to General Dynamics Corporation and is this company's "Cold War" progeny.

Chess

An enthusiastic chess player, Rice invented the Rice Gambit and sponsored tournaments where the opening became the starting point of each game. Emanuel Lasker and Mikhail Chigorin were two of many players who contested these tournaments, with bonus prizes for white wins. In 1904 he formed the "Rice Gambit Association" which published a detailed analysis of the effects of the move.

References

*citation
editor-last=Singer | editor-first=Isidore | editor-link=Isidore Singer
last1=Adler | first1=Cyrus | author1-link=Cyrus Adler
last2=Porter | first2=A.
year=1901–1906 | title=Jewish Encyclopedia
contribution= [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=275&letter=R Rice, Isaac Leopold]
volume=10 | pages=405–6

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/gwmccue/People/Rice.html Short biography]
* [http://www.gdeb.com/about/centennial/eb-100yrs-2.html Morris view of Holland more widely accepted in our era ] at www.gdeb.com Isaac Leopold Rice is acknowledged at this site as a key player instrumental in the founding of John Philip Holland's company. Others who played key roles include: Elihu B. Frost, Frank Taylor Cable, Lawrence York Spear, and naval constructor, Arthur Leopold Busch.
* [http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=12 CorpWatch : General Dynamics ] at www.corpwatch.org Site covering the history of General Dynamics beginning with Electric Boat Company.
* [http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/rd/r&d_bill_of_complaint.htm Dutch Submarines: Bill of Complaint Electric Boat Company - J.P. Holland ] Ironic lawsuit filed by Isaac L. Rice and Electric Boat against John Philip Holland in October 1905.