Arthur LaRue Parker (November 16, 1885 – January 1, 1945) was an American businessman and inventor, known for founding Parker Hannifin Corporation (then known as Parker Appliance Company).

Early life and education

Parker was born and raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

and graduated from Case School of Applied Science in 1907, present day

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, with a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. As both a student and alumnus, Art strongly supported the Case's athletic programs, being a season ticket holder for both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and a member of the ''Case Athletic Association'' for many years.

Career

In 1908, Parker filed his first patent, a mechanism that regulated the speed of a generator to create a constant output of electricity. Throughout his entire career, he filed 160 additional patents. The primary patent giving Parker his entrepreneurial beginnings was filed in 1914 for his pneumatic braking system.

Founding of a company

On March 13, 1917, Parker Appliance Company was founded, referencing the office address of ''1115 Schofield Bldg'' of the Schofield Building in Downtown Cleveland. His first production facility was located at 2420 Superior Viaduct in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland.

World War I

Art served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, and arrived on the Western Front in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in July of 1918. During the

Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...

, Art supported as a Transportation Officer, where his supply truck became a makeshift ambulance helping transport wounded American and French soldiers.

Growth of a company

Parker Appliance Company Parker Hannifin Cleveland 1920s Arthur Art Parker

Early struggles caused him to have to stop and start the business. In 1924 the business was closed and reopened at the address of 10320 Berea Rd in Cleveland. In 1927, having invented and patented a tubing fitting that would not leak under high pressure, Parker convinced young aviator

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

, who was preparing to attempt a non-stop New York-to-Paris flight, to use Parker products in the fuel system of his plane, the

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight ...

. Lindbergh's successful flight resulted in a major boost in Parker's business fortunes. In 1935, Parker relocated the company into the much larger building at 17325 Euclid Ave in Cleveland. By then, Parker's products had gained widespread acceptance in aircraft, marine and industrial applications and the future of his business was assured.

Death

Parker died of a heart attack on January 1, 1945, and was interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Cleveland.

Legacy

After Parker's death, his widow, Helen Parker, put all of her $1 million life insurance policy payment back into the company, saving it from insolvency, to continue Art's life work to what would become the

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

company Parker Hannifin Corporation.

References

External links

* 1885 births 1945 deaths American company founders History of Cleveland Businesspeople from Cleveland Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Case Western Reserve University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople World War I United States Army personnel stubs {{US-inventor-stub