Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Sr.

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Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Sr.
Born1882
Died1951
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman, philanthropist
ChildrenRobert Ingersoll Ingalls Jr.
RelativesBarbara Ingalls Shook (granddaughter)

Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Sr. (1882–1951) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Early life[]

He was born in 1882.

Career[]

He founded Ingalls Iron Works in Titusville, Birmingham, Alabama in 1910.[1][2] He also established Ingalls Shipbuilding in 1938.[1][3][4] They became the largest privately owned steel manufacturer in the Southern United States and the largest shipyard in the Gulf Coast of the United States.[1] In 1937, he started a shipyard in Decatur, Alabama.[2][5] To accommodate the growing needs of the Second World War, it was moved to Birmingham, Alabama, then to Chickasaw, Alabama, and finally in Pascagoula, Mississippi.[2] By the time of his death, his company was worth US$40 million.[1]

Philanthropy[]

He established the in 1943.[6] Among other causes, since 1965, it has funded the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.[7]

Death and family[]

He died in 1951.

His son (1906–1968) inherited 90% of the company.[4][8] He sold Ingalls Industries to Litton Industries in 1961, which was ultimately purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001.[2] He was also a yachtsman, who owned the yacht Rhonda III.[8]

His granddaughter, Barbara Ingalls Shook (1939-2008), was a philanthropist at the helm of the Ingalls Foundation.[6][9]

Legacy[]

The Robert I. Ingalls Sr. Hall on the campus of Samford University in Homewood, Alabama is named in his honor.[10][11][12] It was built in 1957, and it is home to the McWhorter School of Pharmacy.[10][12]

References[]

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