George Gordon Crawford
American industrialist (1869–1936)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Gordon Crawford (August 24, 1869 – March 20, 1936) was an American industrialist.[1]
Birmingham, Alabama
George Gordon Crawford | |
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| Born | August 24, 1869 |
| Died | March 20, 1936 (aged 66) |
Resting place | Elmwood Cemetery Birmingham, Alabama |
| Education | Georgia Tech |
| Known for | Industrialist and Georgia Tech's second graduate |
Early life and education
Crawford was born to George Gilmore and Margaret Reed Howard Crawford on August 24, 1869, and raised on a plantation in Madison, Georgia.[2] He was the second graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology; the 1890 graduating class consisted of two people, himself and Henry L. Smith; their graduation order was decided by the flip of a coin.[3] Crawford took a graduate course in chemistry from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany from 1891 to 1892.[4]
Career
In 1907, he became the president of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in Birmingham, Alabama, during which time he was named "Alabama's First Citizen".[4][5] He became president of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1930.[6]
Memberships and legacy
Crawford received an honorary doctorate from Georgia Tech in 1931,[6] and was a member of the Georgia Tech Board of Trustees until its replacement by the Georgia Board of Regents in 1932.[3] He is listed in the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce's Alabama Business Hall of Fame.[5] He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[7]