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American businessman and industrialist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Plankinton (November 7, 1843 – April 29, 1905) was an American businessman, manufacturer, and industrialist. He followed in his father's footsteps in the meat packing and meat processing industry.
William Plankinton | |
---|---|
Born | Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. | November 7, 1843
Died | April 29, 1905 61) | (aged
Occupation(s) | Businessman and industrialist |
Spouse | Mary Ella Woods |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | John Plankinton Elizabeth Bracken Plankinton |
Relatives | Elizabeth Plankinton (sister) |
Plankinton was associated with the Milwaukee museum, public library, industrial exposition and Chamber of Commerce. As a businessman he was a banker. He was implicated in a scandal of fraud and embezzlement, for which he was sued.
Plankinton was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on November 7, 1843.[2] He was the son of John Plankinton and Elizabeth Bracken Plankinton. While he was still a baby his parents moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory. He received his early education in the Milwaukee public schools. After graduating from high school, he attended a college in Milwaukee.[3][4]
Plankinton was employed by his father after he graduated from the Milwaukee college. He soon became a partner in his father's pork and beef packing company. He helped to establish branches in Chicago, Kansas City and New York.[3] The firm became known in 1893 as the Plankinton Packing Company when the Cudahy brothers moved their operations south to a site just outside of Milwaukee.[5] Plankinton's main competitors were the meat packing companies of Chicago.[6]
Plankinton helped found and organize several companies, including the Milwaukee-based Johnson Electric Company.[7] He founded and was part owner of the Western Portland Cement company in Yankton, South Dakota.[4] Plankinton held several public offices and was a director of the Milwaukee museum, the city public library, and the Milwaukee industrial exposition.[4] He was also associated with Layton art gallery and the local Chamber of Commerce.[8] Plankinton was one of the financial backers of the Postal Telegraph Company that involved telegraph lines in Wisconsin and Michigan.[9]
Plankinton became vice-president of the Plankinton Bank in 1891 upon his father's death.[10] He was involved with settling the affairs when the bank failed in 1893.[11][12][13] The bank crisis involved a scandal of fraud and embezzlement in which Plankinton was implicated.[14] He was sued to pay back all that was owed to the depositors and creditors.[15][16][17]
Loans made by the bank to Frank A. Lappen and his companies totaling almost $300,000 precipitated the crisis.[18][19][20] Lappen was summoned to court to testify about his failure to pay back creditors $750,000, but disappeared to Mexico and could not be extradited.[21] Philip Danforth Armour, the Chicago meat packer businessman of Armour and Company, was reported to have given $600,000 in gold to help the Plankinton bank pay back those it owed money to.[22]
On 26 April 1876, he married Mary Ella Woods, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they had two children.[3][4] He lived next door to his father in a mansion on Grand Avenue in Milwaukee given to him by his father as a wedding gift.[23]
Plankinton died in Milwaukee on April 29, 1905.[4][24] The cause of his death was pneumonia, which he had suffered from for three months prior.[25][26][27] Plankinton left an estate valued at approximately $4 million to his heirs.[28][29] His widowed wife received a third and his children split the remainder in equal shares that included the widow.[30] She died September 7, 1908.[31]
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