William Lowell, Sr.

Infobox Person
name = William Lowell, Sr.


image_size = 250px
caption = Ernest Lowell; William Lowell, Sr.; and William Lowell, Jr.
birth_date = 1863
birth_place = Hoboken, New Jersey
death_date = June 24, 1954
death_place = East Orange, New Jersey
occupation = Dentist
spouse =
parents =
children = William Lowell, Jr., Ernest Lowell, Elisabeth Lowell, Isabel Lowell Niebling (1892-1981), and Carol Lowell Favre (1903-1987)

William Lowell, Sr. (1863 – June 24, 1954) was a dentist, and an inventor of a wooden golf tee.

William Lowell was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and lived in Maplewood, New Jersey and had a son, William Lowell, Jr. (1897-1976). cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=William Lowell Jr., Is Dead; An Industrial Packager, 78 |url= |quote=William Lowell Jr., a former manufacturer of golf tees and an industrial packaging specialist, died Wednesday at Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, New Jersey He was 78 years old and lived in Fanwood, New Jersey |publisher=New York Times |date=May 14, 1976 |accessdate=2007-05-24 ] He first made 5,000 tees, that were stained green, but he soon changed to red, to make them more distinctive and named them "Reddy Tees". In 1922 Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood used his tees during their exhibitions. The Reddy Tee was patented on May 13, 1925, but in 1922 he signed a deal with the A.G. Spalding Company, for 24 dozen. By 1925 he was selling $100,000 worth of tees and they were being made of celluloid. By 1926 copycat versions were on the market, and he spent much of his time and money fighting patent infringement. He died in East Orange, New Jersey in 1954 at the age of 91. [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_10_51/ai_65486576 |title=Birth of the tee: The story behind the man who gave the ball the perfect setup - George Franklin Grant, inventor |accessdate=2007-05-24 |format= |work= ] cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Golf Tee Designer is Dead |url= |quote=Dr. William Lowell of Jersey Patented Reddy Device in 1921. |publisher=New York Times |date=June 25, 1954 |accessdate=2007-05-24 ]

William Lowell, Jr.

William Lowell, Jr. (December 19, 1897 – 1976) was married to Katherine Macpherson. He took over his father's company. The company was sold to Red Devil Tool in 1933. He then moved to the Union Bag Company where he worked on developing the six pack carton. He retired in 1961 and had been living in Fanwood, New Jersey and died in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1976.

Patents

*US Patent|1670627
*US Patent|1650141 golf tee filed August 26, 1925
*US Patent|1569765 gold putter filed November 13, 1925

ee also

*George Franklin Grant

References