John D. Ryan (mining)
Encyclopedia
John Dennis Ryan was an American industrialist and copper
mining magnate. President of Anaconda Copper Mining Company and creator of Montana Power Company
.
region of Michigan
, he began selling lubricating oil in the western American states from a base in Denver, Colorado
. Relocating to Butte, Montana
, he became close to Margaret Daly, the widow of banking and mining magnate Marcus Daly
, who had died in 1900, and acquired an interest in 1901 in the Daly Bank and Trust Co. in Anaconda
, becoming its president and manager of the widow's fortune.
Marcus Daly had been heavily involved in copper mining, and was involved with a syndicate led by Standard Oil
principals Henry H. Rogers
and William Rockefeller
which created a new company, Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, and acquired Daly's Anaconda Copper Co.
, with Daly retaining a financial interest which was left to his widow.
Amalgamated was in competition with powerful copper king F. Augustus Heinze
, who also owned mines in Butte which in 1902 he consolidated as the United Copper Company. Thus, neither organization was able to monopolize copper extraction in Montana. In addition, although Butte was then the most prolific copper-mining district in the world, Amalgamated could not control other copper-mining districts, such as those in Michigan
, Arizona
, and countries outside the United States.
Monopolies were a key to great wealth. Ryan is reputed to have had exceptional negotiating skills. He convinced Heinze to walk away with abundant compensation, and took over Heinze's properties and the properties of William A. Clark (Butte’s third copper king).
Rogers and Rockefeller were then able to gain complete control of Butte's copper as they merged them all with Amalgamated. Ryan became its president, and was rewarded with significant package of Amalgamated shares. The "right hand" of John Ryan was Cornelius "Con" Kelley, young attorney, who soon was given the position of vice-president. The reorganized company was again named Anaconda, as it had been under Daly.
Henry Rogers died suddenly in 1909 of a stroke, but William Rockefeller brought in his son Percy Rockefeller to help with leadership. During World War I
, Ryan took leave from Anaconda to work for the government and the American Red Cross. He was named Director General of the Red Cross' War Relief Program in 1917. Kelley served as President of Anaconda in the interim. After the War, Ryan assumed the position of Chairman, with Kelley continuing as company president.
Under Percy Rockefeller, Ryan and Kelley, Anaconda acquired additional mining businesses outside the United States and by the 1920s, was expanding into new areas of activity which included manganese
, zinc
, aluminum, uranium
and silver
. It became the fourth largest company in the world.
In 1928 Ryan and Percy Rockefeller aggressively speculated on Anaconda shares, causing them to go up at first (when they sold) and then to go down (when they buy them back). Known today as a "pump and dump
", at the time it was not illegal, and was actually quite common. The prices, under the pressure of a "joint account" set up by Ryan and Rockefeller of nearly a million and a half shares of Anaconda Copper Company, fluctuated from $40 in December, 1928 to $128 in March 1929.
Smaller investors were completely wiped out. The results are still considered one of the great fleecings in Wall Street history. The American Senate hearings concluded that those operations cost the public, at the very least, $150 million.
When the U.S. stock market crashed on Oct. 29, 1929, Anaconda suffered serious financial setbacks. Moreover, at the same time, copper prices started going down dramatically. Things at Anaconda worsened as the Great Depression
set in.
Ryan's Anaconda shares, once worth $175 each, had dropped to $4 at the bottom of the Great Depression. When Ryan died in 1933, he was nearly broke. He was buried in a copper coffin. His protégé, Cornelius Kelley, was named Chairman of Anaconda in 1940. The company eventually became part of BP
.
. This providing Anaconda with low-cost electricity for its mines and smelters. As president of Montana Power, he fostered electrification of the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway
and electrical improvements in the mines.
A 1933 Senate banking committee called the stock manipulating operations of Anaconda in the late 1920s one of the greatest frauds in American banking history and a leading cause of the 1930s depression
John D. Ryan was named ninth in a listing of the 100 most important people in Montana of the 20th century. In 2005, he was inducted posthumously into the National Mining Hall of Fame
at Leadville, Colorado
in 2005. Carrie Johnson, a historian, wrote a story about Ryan's rise to power which was published in Montana – The Magazine of Western History.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mining magnate. President of Anaconda Copper Mining Company and creator of Montana Power Company
Montana Power Company
The Montana Power Company was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997.- History :...
.
Biography
Born in the Copper CountryCopper Country
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...
region of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, he began selling lubricating oil in the western American states from a base in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Relocating to Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, he became close to Margaret Daly, the widow of banking and mining magnate Marcus Daly
Marcus Daly
Marcus Daly redirects here, see also Marcus Daly Marcus Daly was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States.- Early life:...
, who had died in 1900, and acquired an interest in 1901 in the Daly Bank and Trust Co. in Anaconda
Anaconda, Montana
Anaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...
, becoming its president and manager of the widow's fortune.
Marcus Daly had been heavily involved in copper mining, and was involved with a syndicate led by Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
principals Henry H. Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
and William Rockefeller
William Rockefeller
William Avery Rockefeller, Jr. , American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza Rockefeller.-Youth, education:Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York,...
which created a new company, Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, and acquired Daly's Anaconda Copper Co.
Anaconda Copper
Anaconda Copper Mining Company was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century. The Anaconda was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Company on January 12, 1977...
, with Daly retaining a financial interest which was left to his widow.
Amalgamated was in competition with powerful copper king F. Augustus Heinze
F. Augustus Heinze
Fritz Augustus Heinze was one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, along with William Andrews Clark and Marcus Daly...
, who also owned mines in Butte which in 1902 he consolidated as the United Copper Company. Thus, neither organization was able to monopolize copper extraction in Montana. In addition, although Butte was then the most prolific copper-mining district in the world, Amalgamated could not control other copper-mining districts, such as those in Michigan
Copper Country
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and countries outside the United States.
Monopolies were a key to great wealth. Ryan is reputed to have had exceptional negotiating skills. He convinced Heinze to walk away with abundant compensation, and took over Heinze's properties and the properties of William A. Clark (Butte’s third copper king).
Rogers and Rockefeller were then able to gain complete control of Butte's copper as they merged them all with Amalgamated. Ryan became its president, and was rewarded with significant package of Amalgamated shares. The "right hand" of John Ryan was Cornelius "Con" Kelley, young attorney, who soon was given the position of vice-president. The reorganized company was again named Anaconda, as it had been under Daly.
Henry Rogers died suddenly in 1909 of a stroke, but William Rockefeller brought in his son Percy Rockefeller to help with leadership. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Ryan took leave from Anaconda to work for the government and the American Red Cross. He was named Director General of the Red Cross' War Relief Program in 1917. Kelley served as President of Anaconda in the interim. After the War, Ryan assumed the position of Chairman, with Kelley continuing as company president.
Under Percy Rockefeller, Ryan and Kelley, Anaconda acquired additional mining businesses outside the United States and by the 1920s, was expanding into new areas of activity which included manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, aluminum, uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. It became the fourth largest company in the world.
In 1928 Ryan and Percy Rockefeller aggressively speculated on Anaconda shares, causing them to go up at first (when they sold) and then to go down (when they buy them back). Known today as a "pump and dump
Pump and dump
"Pump and dump" is a form of microcap stock fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price....
", at the time it was not illegal, and was actually quite common. The prices, under the pressure of a "joint account" set up by Ryan and Rockefeller of nearly a million and a half shares of Anaconda Copper Company, fluctuated from $40 in December, 1928 to $128 in March 1929.
Smaller investors were completely wiped out. The results are still considered one of the great fleecings in Wall Street history. The American Senate hearings concluded that those operations cost the public, at the very least, $150 million.
When the U.S. stock market crashed on Oct. 29, 1929, Anaconda suffered serious financial setbacks. Moreover, at the same time, copper prices started going down dramatically. Things at Anaconda worsened as the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
set in.
Ryan's Anaconda shares, once worth $175 each, had dropped to $4 at the bottom of the Great Depression. When Ryan died in 1933, he was nearly broke. He was buried in a copper coffin. His protégé, Cornelius Kelley, was named Chairman of Anaconda in 1940. The company eventually became part of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
.
Legacy
Ryan is credited with consolidation of several regional electrical generating companies into a single entity, Montana Power CompanyMontana Power Company
The Montana Power Company was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997.- History :...
. This providing Anaconda with low-cost electricity for its mines and smelters. As president of Montana Power, he fostered electrification of the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway
Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway
The Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway is a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Montana which was founded in 1892. It was financed by the interests behind the Anaconda Copper Mining Company and operated primarily to carry copper ore from the mines at Butte, Montana to the smelters at...
and electrical improvements in the mines.
A 1933 Senate banking committee called the stock manipulating operations of Anaconda in the late 1920s one of the greatest frauds in American banking history and a leading cause of the 1930s depression
John D. Ryan was named ninth in a listing of the 100 most important people in Montana of the 20th century. In 2005, he was inducted posthumously into the National Mining Hall of Fame
National Mining Hall of Fame
The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado, USA, dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people that work with natural resources...
at Leadville, Colorado
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
in 2005. Carrie Johnson, a historian, wrote a story about Ryan's rise to power which was published in Montana – The Magazine of Western History.