Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American
industrialist,
financier, and
art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company
coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the
Carnegie Steel Company and played a major role in the formation of the giant
U.S. Steel manufacturing concern. He had extensive real estate holdings in
Pittsburgh and throughout the state of
Pennsylvania. He later built the
Neoclassical Frick Mansion in
Manhattan (now designated a U.S.
National Historic Landmark), and upon his death donated his extensive collection of
old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated
Frick Collection and art museum. However, as a founding member of the
South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the
South Fork Dam that caused its failure, leading to the catastrophic
Johnstown Flood. His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict, most notably in the
Homestead Strike.
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