biography
| name: |
Jones, Samuel Milton
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1846–1904)
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| biography:
| Inventor, manufacturer, and reformer, born in Caernarfonshire, NW Wales, UK. He went to the USA with his family (1849) and began to work for a living at age 10. He went into the oil fields (1865) as a driller, pumper, tool-dresser, and pipe-liner, and entered the oil business for himself (1870). He moved to Lima, OH (1885), where he pioneered the development of newly discovered oil fields. In Toledo, OH (1892–3) he invented some improvements for oil well appliances and organized the Acme Sucker Rod Co (1894), which earned him a fortune. Concerned about workers' conditions, he established major reforms in his factory, including an eight-hour day and holidays with pay. He hung a ‘Golden Rule’ placard in his plant, earning him the nickname ‘Golden Rule’ Jones. He wrote a book proposing a fair social order (1899) and an autobiography, and was elected mayor of Toledo for four successive terms (1897–1904). Business and establishment leaders opposed his reform efforts and the police complained of his lax law enforcement standards, but he made a respectable showing as an independent candidate for governor of Ohio (1899). |
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