Firestone, Harvey Samuel

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868–1938, American industrialist, manufacturer of rubber products, b. Columbiana co., Ohio. The son of a prosperous farmer, Harvey Firestone began to manufacture rubber tires in 1896. He organized (1900) the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and rapidly became a leader of the rubber industry, with various properties over the world. By 1926 he leased a 1,000,000-acre (404,686-hectare) rubber plantation in Liberia to control the output of raw rubber needed in his factories.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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