William John Matheson

William John Matheson (1856-1930) was an American industrialist, born in Wisconsin but educated in Scotland. Having learned, while in Scotland, about recent breakthroughs in the development of aniline dyes, Matheson became an early importer and distributor of such dyes from Germany. He founded the National Aniline and Chemical Company, which merged with four other companies to become the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Matheson's estate on Long Island, Fort Hill, was well known. He also had an estate in Coconut Grove, Florida, and created a coconut plantation on the northern two-thirds of Key Biscayne, an area now occupied by Miami-Dade County's Crandon Park and the Village of Key Biscayne.

References

*Blank, Joan Gill. 1996. "Key Biscayne." Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56164-096-4. pp. 116-119.
* [http://www.keyshistory.org/Matheson-1.html Life and Times of William John Matheson] - retrieved July 1 2008