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William Wallace Kimball (1828–1904) was a Chicago businessman and industrialist who founded the W. W. Kimball Company, a piano manufacture that would later become
Kimball International Kimball International, Inc. is an American company which consists of furniture brands: Kimball, National, Interwoven, Etc., David Edward, D'Style and Kimball Hospitality. It is the successor to W.W. Kimball and Company, the world's largest piano a ...
.


Biography

Kimball was born in
Rumford, Maine Rumford is a New England town, town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Rumford is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 5,858 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Ru ...
on March 22, 1828. He moved to
Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...
, in his mid-twenties and became a real estate broker. He liquidated his investments just before the
Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial crisis in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission ...
and moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. In 1857 he also founded the Kimball Piano Company, beginning with only four pianos. He sold these at a profit and progressed from there, selling pianos manufactured in the east and shipped to his store. Before the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...
, he had a store in the
Crosby Opera House Crosby's Opera House (1865–1871) was an opera house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded by Uranus H. Crosby in 1865 with the goal of advancing the arts in Chicago by bringing opera to the city. The five-story building was design ...
. His place of business was destroyed in the fire, and he lost over $100,000. He later moved to
State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
and Adams Streets. He married Evalyne M. Cove in 1865. In 1877, Kimball decided to manufacture his own pianos to keep down the cost of the final product. In 1881, he opened his own factory and began churning out around 100 pianos and organs every week. Kimball Avenue (3400W) is named after him. Kimball died at his home in Chicago on December 16, 1904. He is buried at
Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park R ...
in Chicago.


References

1828 births 1904 deaths People from Rumford, Maine Businesspeople from Maine 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-music-bio-stub