| (1826
- 1909) |
| Inducted: |
2004 |
| Region: |
U.S. |
| Industry: |
Manufacturing
Education |
|
Joseph Wharton’s ancestors were wealthy Quaker merchants; however, his parents disdained commerce and devoted all of their time to ministering. Wharton was privately educated, and after completing a three-year farming apprenticeship, decided to enter manufacturing, becoming manager of the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company in Bethlehem, PA. He then bought a nickel mine, a metal that was not well known, and was instrumental in the U.S. Mint’s decision to use it in producing coins.
It was a radical idea when Joseph Wharton asked the University of Pennsylvania to found the world's first collegiate business school in 1881. There were no textbooks, no curricula, and no professors of business. It was only the tenacious vision and financial support of Joseph Wharton and early leaders of the School that transformed this "struggling provincial experiment" into the foundation of an industry. At the same time, they transformed the study of business from a trade into a rigorous profession. |
