Elihu Brintnal Frost (May 12, 1860 – August 22, 1925) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

with an early involvement in the

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

industry.

Early life and education

Born in the town of

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

, Frost was the son of lawyer Calvin Frost and Mary Antoinette Oppie (Hait) Frost.http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1925_1952/1925-26.pdf He attended Peekskill Military Academy, and went on to graduate from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1883. While at Yale, Frost was a member of the student secret society

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

. After Yale, he studied at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

, and initially worked for the

Lord Day & Lord Lord Day & Lord was a large American blue-chip law firm in New York City. It was established in 1845 by Daniel Lord, his son Daniel DeForest Lord, and his son-in-law Henry Day. History The firm had retained the same name until 1988 when it merg ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Submarines

In 1893 the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

funded a $200,000 prize for submarine construction, and Frost lent

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland (; February 24, 1841August 12, 1914) was an Irish marine engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, USS Holland (SS-1) and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Holland 1''. Early lif ...

the funds he needed to participate in this prize contest. Once the contest had concluded, Frost and Holland were awarded the prize money in 1895. Frost became secretary-treasurer and later president of Holland's firm, which was first named the John P. Holland Torpedo Boat Company and later the

Holland Torpedo Boat Company Holland Torpedo Boat Company was founded by John Philip Holland (18411914) in 1893. Holland was an Irish engineer-inventor, who designed and built the first practical submarine. His ''Holland VI'' was renamed the USS ''Holland'' (SS-1), and became ...

, which would go on to build the first submarine used by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

.. When Isaac Rice formed the

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(the predecessor of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

) to build Holland's submarine designs, Frost became the company's vice-president, secretary, and chief financial officer. Prominently reported in the newspapers of the time, Frost married and divorced twice. When he died of

paresis In medicine, paresis (), compound word from Greek , (πᾰρᾰ- “beside” + ἵημι “let go, release”), is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement, or by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. Whe ...

in Beach Bluff, Massachusetts, he left his estate to a female friend (later determined to be his fiancée), cutting off his relatives..

References

External links

Biography
on U.S. Navy web site

Electric Boat/General Dynamics web site

Elihu B. Frost's role with John P. Holland's company is acknowledged at this site. Look under people & places/Elihu B. Frost. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Elihu 1925 deaths Yale University alumni Submarine pioneers 1860 births American chief financial officers Columbia Law School alumni 19th-century American lawyers Members of Skull and Bones