Dirk Jan De Pree
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Dirk Jan De Pree
Dirk Jan "D.J." DePree (July 31, 1891 – December 10, 1990) was an American furniture designer, and a founding participant and furniture business leader involved in the companies that would become the brand and manufacturer, Herman Miller, under whose company presidency that name was taken—from a participating early investor, his father-in-law, Harm Mulder (whose name was anglicized as the eponymous brand name). The early company DePree ran was a family company, with the elder DePree's involvement—according to his son and subsequent Herman Miller President and CEO, Hugh DePree—spanning from executive decisions regarding furniture design and manufacture, to quality control of its released products. Early life and education Dirk Jan DePree was born in Zeeland, Michigan, on July 31, 1891. His father, Pieter (Peter) De Pree, was a tinsmith who was active in local politics. His grandparents were Dutch Calvinists who had immigrated to Zeeland in the late 19th century. DePr ...
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Zeeland, Michigan
Zeeland ( ) is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township, Michigan, Zeeland Charter Township. Its name is taken from the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland. History In 1847, nearly 500 Dutch citizens sailed for America ostensibly to achieve freedom of religion, religious freedom, although their decision to immigrate was probably also influenced by other factors, such as dire economic conditions in their home province of Zeeland, Netherlands and their opposition to modern scientific and social advances of the time. The emigrants were led by James Van de Luyster, a wealthy landowner who sold his holdings in the Netherlands to advance money for the members to pay their debts and buy passage to America. Their settlement, some of land once occupied by the Odawa people, was named after their home provinc ...
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Alexander Girard
Alexander Girard (May 24, 1907 – December 31, 1993), affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer. Early life He was born in New York City to an American mother from Boston and a French-Italian father. He was raised in Florence, Italy and in 1917, he was sent as a boarder to Bedford Modern School in England leaving in 1924 to study architecture in London. After also graduating from the Royal School of Architecture in Rome, Girard refined his skills in both Florence and New York. In 1932, his studio was opened in New York and he moved it to Detroit in 1937. Career Girard is widely known for his contributions in the field of American textile design, particularly through his work for Herman Miller (manufacturer), Herman Miller (1952 to 1973), where he created fabrics for the designs of George Nelson (designer), George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames. His work also includes designing th ...
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American People Of Dutch Descent
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams S ...
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1990 Deaths
This is a list of lists of deaths of notable people, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked below. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 Earlier years ''Deaths in years earlier than this can usually be found in the main articles of the years.'' See also * Lists of deaths by day * Deaths by year (category) {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ...
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1891 Births
Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a declaration regarding the famine in the western counties of Ireland. * January 5 **The Australian shearers' strike, that leads indirectly to the foundation of the Australian Labor Party, begins. **A fight between the United States and Lakotas breaks out near Pine Ridge agency. **A fight between railway strikers and police breaks out at Motherwell, Scotland. * January 7 ** General Miles' forces surround the Lakota in the Pine Ridge Reservation. ** The Inter-American Monetary Commission meets in Washington DC. * January 9 – The great shoe strike in Rochester, New York is called off. * January 10 – in France, the Irish Nationalist leaders hold a conference at Boulogne. The French government promptly takes loan. * Jan ...
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Herman Miller (office Equipment)
MillerKnoll, Inc., doing business as Herman Miller, is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings. Its best known designs include the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, Mirra chair, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is also credited with the 1968 invention of the office cubicle (originally known as the " Action Office") under then-director of research Robert Propst. History : Herman Miller was founded in 1905 as the Star Furniture Co. In 1919, it was renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. under then-president Dirk Jan De Pree. De Pree and his father-in-law, Herman Miller, (born Harm Mulder on 7 September 1867 in Hoogemeeden, Groningen, Netherlands) acquired most of the company's shares in 1923 and renamed it the Herman Miller Furniture Company. With the coming of the Great Depression, the company faced bankruptcy until De Pree met Gilbert Rohde, an up-and-coming modernist designer. Rohde convinced De Pr ...
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Max De Pree
Max De Pree (October 28, 1924 – August 8, 2017) was an American businessman and writer. A son of D. J. De Pree, founder of Herman Miller office furniture company, he and his brother Hugh De Pree assumed leadership of the company in the early 1960s, with Hugh becoming CEO and president in 1962. Max succeeded his brother Hugh as CEO in 1980 and served in that capacity till 1987; he was a member of the company's Board of Directors until 1995.Company Timeline
on Herman Miller Company website
His book ''Leadership is an Art'' has sold more than 800,000 copies. In 1992, De Pree was inducted into the Junior Achievement's U.S. Business Hall of Fame. He was involved with the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at

Robert Propst (inventor)
Robert Propst (1921–2000) was an American inventor. He was the inventor of the Action Office that evolved into the cubicle office furniture system. Biography and work Born in Colorado, Propst worked for Herman Miller (Research) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was hired in 1958 by company president Hugh DePree to "find problems outside of the furniture industry and to conceive solutions for them." Propst's 120 inventions include: *a vertical timber harvester *a quality control system for concrete *an electronic tagging system for livestock *a mobile office for a quadriplegic *modular systems for use in hospitals In 1953, he formed Propst Co. in Denver, Colorado, to commercialize his inventions. Propst's work has been exhibited at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal go ...
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Charles Eames
Charles Ormond Eames Jr. (June 17, 1907 – August 21, 1978) was an American designer, architect and filmmaker. In professional partnership with his wife Ray-Bernice Kaiser Eames, he made groundbreaking contributions in the fields of architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts. Biography Childhood Charles was born in St. Louis to Charles Eames Sr., a railway security officer, and Marie Adele Celine Eames (née Lambert) on June 17, 1907. He had one elder sibling, a sister called Adele. Charles attended Yeatman High School and developed an early interest in architecture and photography. Education Eames studied architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis on an architecture scholarship. After two years of study, he left the university. Many sources claim that he was dismissed for his advocacy of Frank Lloyd Wright and his interest in modern architects. The university reporte ...
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Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 34,378, with an List of United States urban areas, urbanized area population of 107,034. Holland was founded by Dutch Americans and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America. Holland's economy includes manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and higher education. It is home to a number of prominent companies, including Herman Miller, Haworth (company), Haworth, and Adient. The city also attracts thousands of visitors each year for ...
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Gilbert Rohde
Gilbert Rohde (1894–1944), whose career as a furniture and industrial designer helped to define American modernism during its first phase from the late 1920s to World War II, is best known today for inaugurating modern design at Herman Miller Inc. Background Beginning in 1932, and continuing up to the time of his death in 1944, Rohde advised Herman Miller's president, Dirk Jan De Pree on design, marketing, and production. Herman Miller was one of a dozen furniture manufacturers where Rohde initiated modern design, among them the Heywood-Wakefield Company, the Widdicomb Company, and the Troy Sunshade Company. Rohde lived in New York City and its environs throughout his life. He was educated in New York City public schools, graduating in 1913 from Stuyvesant High School, which was known at the time for its rigorous vocational studies program. Post-high school studies included classes at the Art Students League and the Grand Central School of Art. A 1927 trip to France and Ger ...
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