| (1862
- 1939) |
| Inducted: |
1982 |
| Region: |
Northeast |
| Industry: |
Manufacturing
|
|
Charlie Schwab worked as an engineering assistant, performing heavy labor for $1.00 per day. Then as the manager of two Carnegie Steel plants, he introduced a host of technological innovations and labor saving schemes. In 1900 he persuaded J. Pierpont Morgan to buy out Carnegie and piece together U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation. A few years later he bought control of a small, failing enterprise called Bethlehem Steel. Bethlehem took the lead in rolled-steel girders for the new skyscrapers, and during World War I became a major manufacturer of armor plating, munitions, and warships. |
