Grace, William R.

Grace, William R.

▪ American businessman
in full  William Russell Grace  
born May 10, 1832, Queenstown [now Cobh], County Cork, Ire.
died March 21, 1904, New York, N.Y., U.S.

      American shipowner and founder of W.R. Grace & Co. (W.R. Grace & Co.), a corporation that was for many years a dominant influence on the economy of South America's west coast and, under the management of his heirs, became a multibillion-dollar conglomerate in the late 20th century.

      Grace ran away to New York at the age of 14 but later returned to Ireland. In 1850 he visited Callao, Peru, where he entered the shipping house of Bryce & Co. as a clerk, becoming a partner two years later. Early success came to him when he positioned one of the firm's supply ships off the Peruvian coast, thereby permitting cargo fleets to purchase supplies without sending their workers ashore. In 1854 the firm became Bryce, Grace & Co. and within a few years controlled much of the shipping along the coasts of Peru and Chile. His health declining, Grace turned the management of the firm over to his brother and left Peru in 1865.

      In 1868 he organized the shipping firm of W.R. Grace & Co. in New York, serving ports on three continents and in the process winning a substantial portion of the U.S.–South American trade. Grace was the main arms supplier to Peru before and during its unsuccessful war with Chile in 1879–83, and after the war he assumed the country's staggering war debt. In return, his company received huge concessions from Peru in the form of silver mines, oil and mineral deposits, and guano deposits. His business exploits in the country earned him the moniker “Pirate of Peru.” Grace also invested extensively in commodities and real estate in Peru and Chile and had numerous other business interests both in the United States and abroad. In 1892 he established the first direct steamship service between New York and Peru.

      Grace was a major contributor to the Irish famine relief effort in 1880. He became interested in politics and was twice elected mayor of New York, in 1880 and 1884. His advocacy of a shipping canal through Central America met with success with the start of American-led construction of the Panama Canal in 1904.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Grace, William Russell — • Philanthropist and merchant, born at Cork, Ireland, 10 May, 1832; died at New York, 21 March, 1904 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Grace, William Gilbert — ▪ British athlete born July 18, 1848, Downend, Gloucestershire, Eng. died Oct. 23, 1915, London  greatest cricketer in Victorian England, whose dominating physical presence, gusto, and inexhaustible energy made him a national figure. He evolved… …   Universalium

  • William Russell Grace — (born May 10, 1832, Ballylinan, County Laois, Ireland;died March 21, 1904, New York) was the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. BusinessHe began his business career in Peru, where he was a partner… …   Wikipedia

  • William Gilbert (disambiguation) — William Gilbert may refer to:*William Gilbert (1544 1603), English physicist *William Gilbert (Rugby) (1799 1877), British cobbler rugby ball maker *William Gilbert (author) (1804 1890), English novelist surgeon (and father of W. S. Gilbert) *W.… …   Wikipedia

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

  • William Thomas Stead — William T. Stead en 1905 Naissance 5 juillet 1849 Embleto …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Grace Darling — (24 November 1815 – 20 October 1842) is an English Victorian heroine, on the strength of a celebrated maritime rescue in 1838. Grace was born in 1815 at Bamburgh in Northumberland, and spent her youth in two lighthouses (Longstone ndash; now know …   Wikipedia

  • Grace Patricia Kelly — Grace Kelly 1981 Grace Patricia Kelly, später Fürstin Gracia Patricia (* 12. November 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; † 14. September 1982 in Monte Carlo, Monaco) war eine US amerikanische Filmschauspielerin. 1956 heiratete sie Fürst Rainier… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Grace Wilson Vanderbilt — Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, um 1890/1905 Porter Woodruff: Grace Wi …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Perkins (Puritan) — William Perkins (1558 1602) was a clergyman and Cambridge theologian who was one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England. Early lifePerkins was born to Thomas and Anna Perkins at Marston Jabbett in the parish of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”