- Eugene Grace
Eugene Gifford Grace (
August 27 ,1876 –July 7 ,1960 ) was the president ofBethlehem Steel Corporation from 1916 to 1945, and chairman of the board from 1945 until his retirement in 1957. He also served as president of theAmerican Iron and Steel Institute , and sat on the board of trustees forLehigh University .Early years
Born in
Cape May, New Jersey , the son of a sea captain John W. Grace, and Rebecca Grace. He married Marion Brown, daughter of Charles Brown, co-founder of the Brown-Borhek lumber supply company. Grace attendedLehigh University inBethlehem, Pennsylvania and played for the universitybaseball team. He was considered to be one of their best players, playingshortstop and batting a .400 average. Upon graduation in 1899, at the top of his class and asvaledictorian , he turned down a contract to play for the Boston Braves to go and work as a crane operator for Bethlehem Steel. Though his friends doubted his decision, by 1916 he had worked his way up to become president of the company.Industrial career
Grace led the company through
World War I , tripling the company's steel output over the course of the war. By 1929, through several acquisitions, the company operated nine major steel plants. He is quoted as saying "Gentlemen, we are going to make a lot of money." when informed of the outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939. He was right, as Bethlehem Steel quickly became one of the major steel suppliers of the war, as well as constructing many ships for theUnited States Navy . After the war, Grace led the company to retool for peace time, and they changed focus to building bridges, including theVerrazano-Narrows Bridge , andsky scraper s. Grace was generous with the money he earned, and donated much to Lehigh University and the city of Bethlehem. He retired from the company in 1957. He died in 1960, and was buried in Nisky Hill Cemetery in a site overlooking the steel plant in south Bethlehem.References
* [http://history.lehighsports.com/hof/player.asp?PlayerID=324&SeasonYear=1899&CatID=1 Lehigh University Hall of Fame: Eugene Gifford Grace]
* [http://www.bethlehempaonline.com/steelgolden.html Bethlehem Steel - Golden Days]External links
* [http://heritage.web.lehigh.edu/index.php/Grace%2C_Eugene_C. Eugene Grace Lehigh Engineering Heritage Initiative entry]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.