John K. Stewart
Encyclopedia
John K. Stewart was an entrepreneur
and inventor. He was most notably known for starting the Stewart-Warner Corporation
. In his lifetime he founded or purchased several companies and held 82 patents. Married to Julia Pearl Butler in 1896, the couple had three daughters, Dorthy (1899-1901), Marian (1902-1988) and Jeanne (1911-1921).
In what became training for their futures in manufacturing, Stewart and Thomas J. Clark
worked at a factory in New Hampshire that produced horse clipping machinery. The lifelong friends later moved to Providence
, Rhode Island
and worked for the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company
. Then, in approximately 1890, the two traveled to Chicago
, Illinois
where they entered into partnership and manufactured horse clippers, sheep clippers, bicycle
handle bars and flexible shaft
s among other products.
s and mechanical sheep shears. Stewart and Charles Timson of Wm. Cooper & Nephews partnered in founding the Cooper-Stewart Sheep Shearing Machinery Co in 1896 and sold the sheep shearing products through this new company.
In 1903 Wm. Cooper & Nephews purchased 50% ownership of the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company. In 1908 Wm. Cooper & Nephews purchased the remaining 50% of Chicago Flexible Shaft Company for $400,000 (period dollars). Julia Stewarts nephew remained the president of Chicago Flexible Shaft Company after the sale.
s and automobile
horns. The flexible shafts from the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company were used in the production of cables needed for the speedometers.
The partners erected a small manufacturing plant on Diversay Parkway in Chicago. This plant would eventually grow to a one million square foot (93,000 m²) manufacturing and headquarters facility for Stewart-Warner until the company left Chicago in 1988.
Due to his patents, Stewart collected $311,000 (period dollars) in royalties
, which were calculated at $5 per speedometer sold in 1909.
Unfortunately, Clark was killed while demonstrating the Stewart speedometer in a Packard
during the 1907 Glidden Tour
#. Stewart acquired Clarks' share of the company.
for tempering steel. In 1906 the two formed the E.A. Larson & Brothers Company to take advantage of the processes they developed to provide die casting
for speedometer production as well as other companies in the area. In 1908, E.A. Larson was reorganized as the J.K. Stewart Manufacturing Company.
s by both parties. All lawsuit
s ceased when Stewart bought the Warner Instrument Company in 1912. Stewart-Warner Speedometer Corporation was formed the same year by consolidating the Warner Company with the Stewart & Clark Manufacturing Company. Once again the name changed in 1929 to Stewart-Warner Corporation.
, Stewart ventured into the phonograph
market in 1915. Eventually becoming a division of Stewart-Warner, the phonograph company expanded to include radio
s, television
s, and the required accessories such as speaker
s.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and inventor. He was most notably known for starting the Stewart-Warner Corporation
Stewart-Warner
Stewart-Warner is a US manufacturer of vehicle instruments, a.k.a. gauges. The company was founded as Stewart & Clark Company in 1905 by John K. Stewart. Their speedometers were used in the Ford Model T. In 1912 John Stewart joined with Edgar Bassick to make vehicle instruments and horns...
. In his lifetime he founded or purchased several companies and held 82 patents. Married to Julia Pearl Butler in 1896, the couple had three daughters, Dorthy (1899-1901), Marian (1902-1988) and Jeanne (1911-1921).
In what became training for their futures in manufacturing, Stewart and Thomas J. Clark
Thomas J. Clark
Thomas Jefferson Clark , originally from New Hampshire, USA, was a lifelong friend and partner of John K. Stewart as they built the companies that would one day be the foundation of the Stewart-Warner Corporation of Chicago, Illinois....
worked at a factory in New Hampshire that produced horse clipping machinery. The lifelong friends later moved to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and worked for the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company
Brown & Sharpe
Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon Metrology, Inc., a multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the most well-known and influential firms in the machine tool industry...
. Then, in approximately 1890, the two traveled to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
where they entered into partnership and manufactured horse clippers, sheep clippers, bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
handle bars and flexible shaft
Flexible shaft
A flexible shaft is a device for transmitting rotary motion between two objects which are not fixed relative to one another. It consists of a rotating wire rope or coil which is flexible but has some torsional stiffness. It may or may not have a covering, which also bends but does not rotate...
s among other products.
Chicago Flexible Shaft Company
In 1893 Stewart & Clark founded the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company (incorporated 1897) to manufacture flexible driveshaftDriveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement...
s and mechanical sheep shears. Stewart and Charles Timson of Wm. Cooper & Nephews partnered in founding the Cooper-Stewart Sheep Shearing Machinery Co in 1896 and sold the sheep shearing products through this new company.
In 1903 Wm. Cooper & Nephews purchased 50% ownership of the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company. In 1908 Wm. Cooper & Nephews purchased the remaining 50% of Chicago Flexible Shaft Company for $400,000 (period dollars). Julia Stewarts nephew remained the president of Chicago Flexible Shaft Company after the sale.
Sterk Manufacturing Company
Around 1896 Stewart and Clark founded the Sterk Manufacturing Company which produced speedometerSpeedometer
A speedometer is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a land vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the 1900s, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards. Speedometers for other vehicles have specific names...
s and automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
horns. The flexible shafts from the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company were used in the production of cables needed for the speedometers.
Stewart & Clark Manufacturing Company
In 1905 Stewart & Clark Manufacturing Company was founded and acquired all assets of the Sterk Manufacturing Company.The partners erected a small manufacturing plant on Diversay Parkway in Chicago. This plant would eventually grow to a one million square foot (93,000 m²) manufacturing and headquarters facility for Stewart-Warner until the company left Chicago in 1988.
Due to his patents, Stewart collected $311,000 (period dollars) in royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, which were calculated at $5 per speedometer sold in 1909.
Unfortunately, Clark was killed while demonstrating the Stewart speedometer in a Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
during the 1907 Glidden Tour
Glidden Tour
The Glidden Tours were promotional events held during the automotive Brass Era by the American Automobile Association . The AAA, a proponent for safer roads, acceptance of the automobile and automotive-friendly legislation, started the tour to promote public acceptance and bring awareness of their...
#. Stewart acquired Clarks' share of the company.
J.K. Stewart Manufacturing Company
Due to the need for the blades of clippers & shears to last longer and remain sharp, Stewart worked with Edward Larson to build a heat treatment furnaceFurnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
for tempering steel. In 1906 the two formed the E.A. Larson & Brothers Company to take advantage of the processes they developed to provide die casting
Die casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process...
for speedometer production as well as other companies in the area. In 1908, E.A. Larson was reorganized as the J.K. Stewart Manufacturing Company.
Stewart-Warner Speedometer Corporation
Stewart and rival instrument manufacturer, Warner Instrument Company, were in heated legal battles over patent infringementPatent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
s by both parties. All lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s ceased when Stewart bought the Warner Instrument Company in 1912. Stewart-Warner Speedometer Corporation was formed the same year by consolidating the Warner Company with the Stewart & Clark Manufacturing Company. Once again the name changed in 1929 to Stewart-Warner Corporation.
Stewart Phonograph Company
A lover of musicMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Stewart ventured into the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
market in 1915. Eventually becoming a division of Stewart-Warner, the phonograph company expanded to include radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
s, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s, and the required accessories such as speaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s.
Miscellaneous
- John K Stewart dictated, onto 18 business phonograph cylinders, instructions for the construction of a 225 feet (68.6 m) ocean going personal yachtYachtA yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. - This yacht was built and named The Sialia. - Wm. Cooper & Nephews declined the opportunity to purchase a portion of Stewarts' speedometer company, believing the product was too speculative. - Starting in 1908 Stewart Speedometers were installed in FordFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
s Model-Ts. - In 1916, Leander H. La Chance, Mrs. Stewart's half-nephew, was presidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Chicago Flexible Shaft and in 1910 the company produces its first household appliance the Princess Electric IronIronIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
under the brand name of SunbeamSunbeam ProductsSunbeam Products is an American brand that has produced electric home appliances since 1910. Their products have included the Mixmaster mixer, the Sunbeam CG waffle iron, Coffeemaster and the fully automatic T20 toaster. Sunbeam is owned by Jarden Consumer Solutions after Jarden's acquisition in...
, a brand that still provides appliances today.