Edgar Fosburgh Kaiser Sr. (July 29, 1908 – December 7, 1981) was an American industrialist, who was Chairman of
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is an American aluminum producer. It is a spinoff from Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation, which came to be when common stock was offered in Permanente Metals Corporation and Permanente Metals Corporation's na ...
, the Kaiser Cement Corporation and the
Kaiser Steel Corporation
Kaiser Steel was a steel company and integrated steel mill near Fontana, California. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser founded the company on December 1, 1941, and workers fired up the plant's first blast furnace, named "Big Bess" after Kaiser's ...
.
Kaiser was born in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
and spent his youth growing up in construction camps of his father
Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known for his shipbuilding and construction projects, then later for his involvement in fostering modern American health care. Prior to World War II, ...
. He gained experience fulfilling junior roles in the associated construction sites, but opted to study economics when he attended the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
. In 1930 he left in his final year without graduating, but with his father's approval. He went to work on pipeline construction. Then in 1932 he moved on to work on the
Boulder Dam #REDIRECT Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed bet ...
. Here he started as a shovel foreman before being promoted to superintendent of canyon excavation. He then moved on to
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Ore ...
construction.
In 1941 Kaiser was appointed vice-president and general manager of
Kaiser Shipyards
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...
responsible for building ships from prefabricated parts in the context of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as part of the
Emergency Shipbuilding program
The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritim ...
. In 1947, he was appointed general manager of his father's auto manufacturer, the
Kaiser-Frazer Corporation
The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (1947–1953 as Kaiser-Frazer) was an American automobile company. It was founded jointly by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer.Award of Excellence from ''Engineering News-Record'' for his service under
President Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
on the Committee on Urban Housing. His work on this committee to increase the availability of housing for low- and moderate-income families earned him the
Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
. he died in Oakland California on December 7 1981