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Biography of Samuel InsullName: Samuel InsullBirth Date: November 11, 1859 Death Date: July 16, 1938 Place of Birth: London, England Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: entrepreneur Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (1859-1938), English-born American entrepreneur, organized a utilities empire in the 1920s valued at over billion.Samuel Insull was born on Nov. 11, 1859, in London. He attended school until the age of 14, when he became an apprentice clerk. After several jobs he was employed by the London manager for Thomas Edison. When he turned 21, Insull went to the United States, where he worked as Edison's secretary.Edison liked Insull's stamina and audaciousness, and when the Edison General Electric Company was organized in 1899, Insull was made second vice president in charge of manufacturing and sales. Insull's biggest opportunity came when he took over the Chicago Edison Company, which had at least six competitors in the city. Slowly Insull combined the concerns into Commonwealth-Edison, using business methods which his critics called unfair. However, Insull's success was not due to manipulation alone; he also insisted on improved equipment such as the Curtis turbine, which …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…as it suited his interests. His most notable philanthropic activities included support for the million Chicago Civic Opera House and a donation of 0,000 to establish the London Temperance Hospital.Insull's empire was in financial trouble in 1929, when the stock market crash and ensuing Depression sealed its doom. In June 1932 he was removed as executive officer of his companies and left for Paris virtually destitute. He was indicted on charges of fraud and embezzlement but fled to Greece, where he fought extradition. Finally returning to the United States for trial, he was acquitted. He fell into obscurity and died in Paris on July 16, 1938. Associated Organizations Associated Events Stock Market Crash, 1929 Further Reading Only two books cover Insull's career: M. L. Ramsay is hostile to him in Pyramids of Power: The Story of Roosevelt, Insull and the Utility Wars (1937), and Forest McDonald shows sympathy in Insull (1962), which is the only full-length biography. |