William Coffin Coleman (May 21, 1870 – November 2, 1957) was a businessman, the American founder of the

Coleman Company The Coleman Company, Inc. is an American brand of outdoor recreation products, especially camping gear, now owned by Newell Brands. The company's new headquarters are in Chicago, and it has facilities in Wichita, Kansas, and in Texas. There are ...

, a maker of camping equipment, and a politician. He served as the

Mayor of Wichita, Kansas The mayor of the City of Wichita is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Wichita, Kansas#Government, Wichita, Kansas city government. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms. List Fo ...

, from 1923 to 1924.

Biography

Coleman was born in

Chatham, New York Chatham is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census, down from the 2010 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 ...

, in 1870. His parents moved the family to

Labette County, Kansas Labette County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Oswego, and its most populous city is Parsons. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 20,184. The county was named after LaBette Creek, the second-large ...

, in 1871, and in 1881 his father died. William started earning money by selling small goods as a child. After he got older, he became a salesman, a good entry position for someone with limited education but much energy. Baptist chapel car Evangel

While he was selling typewriters in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Coleman saw a lantern that used gasoline instead of

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

. He switched his sales to lanterns, believing these would be useful. He began to craft his own lantern, which he marketed as the Coleman Arc Lamp. In 1901 Coleman married Fanny Sheldon and they moved to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. They had two children: Sheldon and Clarence Coleman. Coleman also developed what he called the G.I. pocket stove, in addition to the gasoline lamp. The business was now called the Coleman Lamp and Stove Company. after two decades in Wichita, Coleman entered politics, joining the Republican Party. He was elected as mayor of Wichita for one two-year term, serving 1923 through 1924. Coleman died in

, on November 2, 1957, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He is buried in Old Mission Mausoleum,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, William Coffin Businesspeople from Wichita, Kansas People from Chatham, New York Mayors of Wichita, Kansas 1870 births 1957 deaths Kansas Republicans Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees Businesspeople from New York (state) 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American inventors 20th-century mayors of places in Kansas Inventors from New York (state) Inventors from Kansas

Biography

See also

References

External links