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James Gamble (industrialist)

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This article is about the co-founder of Procter & Gamble. For the Pennsylvania congressman, see James Gamble (congressman).

James Gamble
Photo of James Gamble
Born(1803-04-03)3 April 1803
Enniskillen, Ireland, Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died29 April 1891(1891-04-29) (aged 88)
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
NationalityIrish-American
Occupation(s)Soapmaker and industrialist
co-founder of Procter & Gamble
RelativesWilliam Procter (brother-in-law)

James Gamble (3 April 1803 – 29 April 1891) was an Irish-American soap industrialist.[1][2] He was the co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, along with William Procter.

Early life

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James Gamble was born at the Graan near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and went to Portora Royal School.[3] His father George Gamble, who was a Methodist minister, decided with his family to escape the depression in Ireland.[4] They emigrated to America in 1819. The Gambles arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a flat boat down the Ohio River destined for Illinois. His family stopped in Cincinnati when he was seized with an illness. Staying in the city, his father established a nursery and Gamble apprenticed as a soap maker. Cincinnati then was a major pig-butchering center and produced large amount of pig fat used for making candles and soap.[5] He attended Kenyon College, graduated in 1824, and manufactured soap on his own in 1828.

Procter & Gamble

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Gamble went into business with William Procter after they became related by marriage. Gamble's wife Elizabeth Ann Norris was the sister of Procter's wife Olivia Norris. The pair's father-in-law, Alexander Norris, first suggested that the two go into business together in 1837 and consequently Procter & Gamble was born.[3][6] Within 20 years, the company had a $1 million turnover.[5] It also secured a contract to supply soap for the Union Army.[5]

Death

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Gamble died at his residence in Cincinnati on 29 April 1891 from natural causes.[2] He is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.[7]

Procter, who preceded his partner Gamble in death, is also buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.[8]

Family life

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Gamble and Elizabeth Ann (Norris) Gamble had ten children,[1][3] including James Norris Gamble (9 August 1836 – 2 July 1932) who became Vice President of Procter & Gamble and was the chemist who devised the formula for Ivory soap.[1] James Norris Gamble married Margaret Penrose; he died in his sleep on 2 July 1932 in Cincinnati and is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.[9][10] Another son, David Gamble, built the Gamble House in Pasadena, California.

Gamble's grandson William married Franzeska Wilhelmina (Fanny) Nast, the daughter of the William Nast, a German-American Methodist preacher. Fanny was the first woman to graduate from German Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.[11] As one of Cincinnati's biggest proponents of Methodism, Gamble was a prominent member of Westwood Methodist Church and donated money to construct Methodist churches throughout Greater Cincinnati.[12]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "James Gamble". NNDB. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b "James Gamble grave burial information" (PDF). Spring Grove Cemetery. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "Typhoid Mary and other curiosities in Irish biography". BBC News. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  4. ^ Applegate, Edd (2012). The Rise of Advertising in the United States: A History of Innovation to 1960. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-8108-8406-9.
  5. ^ a b c Mulvihill, Mary L. (2002). Ingenious Ireland: A County-by-County Exploration of the Mysteries and Marvels of the Ingenious Irish. Dublin, Ireland: Town House. p. 220. ISBN 1-86059-145-0.
  6. ^ "James Gamble". Ohio Biography. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Spring Grove Cemetery". news.cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  8. ^ Stradling, David (1 October 2003). Cincinnati: From River City to Highway Metropolis. Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 9780738524405. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  9. ^ "James Norris Gamble grave burial information" (PDF). Spring Grove Cemetery. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Spring Grove Cemetery interment information". Spring Grove Cemetery. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  11. ^ Wittke, Carl Frederick (1959). William Nast, patriarch of German Methodism. Wayne State University Press. pp. 218–219.
  12. ^ "Shiloh Methodist Church". www.delhihistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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