Edmund F. Martin & Bethlehem Steel Timeline
1902, November 1: Edmund Fible Martin born in Chicago, Ill.
1904: Charles M. Schwab forms Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The company traces its roots back to the Saucona Iron Company established in South Bethlehem, Pa. in 1957. The company eventually becomes the Bethlehem Iron Company and later Bethlehem Steel Company
1908: Bethlehem’s new pioneering Grey Mill begins production of the nation’s first wide- flange structural section. The new “Bethlehem Beam” which becomes the centerpiece of the corporate logo, revolutionizes building construction and makes possible the age of the skyscraper
1919: Martin family moves to Orange, N.J.
1919 – 1922: Attends Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.
1922, May: Bethlehem Steel acquires Lackawanna Steel Company, including its steel plant in Lackawanna, N.Y., just south of Buffalo
1922, June: Graduates from Stevens Institute of Technology and moves to Bethlehem, Pa. to start work at Bethlehem Steel as a member of its first Loop Management Training Program. Ultimately becomes the first “Looper” to lead the company
1924: Promoted to foreman of the 12- and 18-inch mills at the Bethlehem (Pa.) Plant
1925: Bethlehem Steel launches the USS Lexington (CV-2), America’s first true aircraft carrier
1926, November 22: Marries Frances Taylor
1927, November 21: Daughter, Caroline Bettie Martin, is born
1928: Promoted to superintendent of four mills at the Bethlehem Plant
1929, September 22: Daughter, Barbara Martin, is born
1933 - 1937: Bethlehem Steel builds The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.
1939, September 18: Bethlehem Steel founder and first president and chairman, Charles M. Schwab, dies
World War II: Becomes superintendent of the Saucon Division of the Bethlehem Plant. Bethlehem Steel, then the largest shipbuilder in the world, completes history’s biggest shipbuilding program by building a total of 1,121 ships of every class for the war effort, including 380 in 1943 alone – “a ship a day.” Bethlehem Steel’s employment hits its all-time peak of over 300,000
1945, December: Eugene G. Grace is elected chairman of Bethlehem Steel, filling the void since Schwab’s death in 1939. Grace serves as chairman until his retirement in 1957, then as honorary chairman until his death in 1960. Grace has effectively led Bethlehem Steel since becoming its president in 1916, and will continue to do so until his retirement in 1957. Arthur B. Homer, who led Bethlehem’s mammoth World War II shipbuilding program, is elected president
1946: Transferred to the Lackawanna Plant, near Buffalo, N.Y. to take the position of assistant general manager
1950: Promoted to general manager of the Lackawanna Plant
1956: Bethlehem Steel peaks at 8th on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies
1958: Promoted to vice president of operations and elected as a director of Bethlehem Steel Corporation; moves back to Bethlehem, Pa.
1960: Eugene G. Grace dies at age 83. Martin is elected president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, following the election of Arthur B. Homer as chairman.
1961: Homer Research Laboratories established in Bethlehem, Pa. Martin receives honorary doctorate of engineering from the University of Buffalo
1962: Bethlehem Steel breaks ground on the construction of its Burns Harbor Plant in Northwest Indiana near Chicago, Il. Burns Harbor was the largest private construction project in the history of the United States at that time and was the last fully integrated steel plant built in the country
1963: Elected vice chairman of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Swedish government honors him as a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of the North Star
1964: Elected Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s 4th chairman and CEO after the retirement of Arthur B. Homer
1964: Moravian College confers an honorary doctor of laws degree
1966: Liberian government confers Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa for the development of an iron ore operation in Liberia
1966: Lehigh University confers honorary doctor of laws degree
1967: Elected chair of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
1969: Brazil confers the honor of Knight Commander of the Southern Cross
1969: Awarded the Elbert H. Gary Medal by the American Iron and Steel Institute in 1969
1970: Martin retires from Bethlehem Steel at age 68. Stewart S. Cort succeeds him as chairman of Bethlehem Steel Corporation
1971: Elected president of Historic Bethlehem, Inc., Bethlehem, Pa.
1972: Martin Tower dedicated and fully occupied
1980, November 16: Frances Martin (nee Taylor) passes away at age 80
1993, January 10: Edmund F. Martin dies at age 90
1995: Steelmaking discontinued at the Bethlehem Plant
2001: Bethlehem Steel Corporation files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
2003, April 30: Bethlehem Steel acquired by International Steel Group (ISG)
2010: Martin Tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places
2019, May 19: Martin Tower imploded to make way for development of the building and its 53-acre site
About the Industrial Archives & Library Established in 2015, the Industrial Archives & Library (IAL), is a 501(c)(3), private operating foundation located in Bethlehem, Pa., organized as an independent institution to collect, organize, conserve and preserve industrial records and to make them available for education and research to historians, scholars, and the public. Current holdings include records relating to banking, slate quarrying, coal mining, steel and shipbuilding. The IAL also houses an oral history program and offers repository services for corporate and industrial records. “Preserving Historical Records for the Ages” www.industrialarchives.org
For More Information:
Robert W. Bilheimer General Manager Industrial Archives & Library (610) 868-1115 (610) 216-6639 - Mobile [email protected]