James H. Laughlin was a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

. He was born March 1, 1806 near Portaferry

Portaferry

Portaferry is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,467 people in the 2001 Census. It has an aquarium and is well-known for the annual Galway Hookers Regatta. It hosts...

 in County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

.

Steel industry

He became a junior partner of the iron business of Benjamin Franklin Jones

Benjamin Franklin Jones (Pittsburgh)

Benjamin Franklin Jones was a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Pittsburgh. Originally involved in the river barge industry, he purchased a share in American Iron Works in 1851, along with Bernard Lauth. He later joined with James H...

 in 1857. The company was renamed Jones and Laughlin in 1861, later reorganized as J&L Steel.

Arts and education

He was the first president of the Western Theological Seminary

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, founded in 1794, is a graduate theological institution associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and houses one of the largest theological libraries in the nation...

 in Pittsburgh.

He was a founder of the Pennsylvania Female College, which later became Chatham University.