Kenneth A. Spencer
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Aldred Spencer was a Kansas coal mine owner who transformed a government surplus factory into the world's biggest ammonium nitrate producer. Money from his and his wife's estate was donated to philanthropies throughout the Kansas City, Missouri
area.
He was born in Columbus, Kansas
but grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas
.
Spencer graduated from the University of Kansas
in 1926 and went into his father's business of Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company in Pittsburg, Kansas
.
In 1941 the War Department
contacted him about operating a weapons-grade
ammonia nitrate plant in Galena, Kansas
that would become the Jayhawk Ordnance Works. He would say later:
He set up the Military Chemical Works, Inc. as a subsidiary of Pittsburg & Midway with himself as President and built the plant by 1943 with it producing 14,500 tons a month.
U.S. ordnance facilities were placed in the mid-U.S. during World War II
. Other plants to be built and owned by others included the Kansas Ordnance Plant at Parsons, Kansas
, the Sunflower Ordnance Plant
at DeSoto, Kansas, the Ozark Ordnance Plant at El Dorado, Arkansas
.
After the war with help from J.H. Whitney & Company
he entered into a lease with an option to buy (which he did in 1951) the plant to use the ammonia nitrate into fertilizer
under the new name of Spencer Chemical. He succeeded his father as head of the Pittsburg and Midway. It was so successful that he was able to endow a foundation by 1949.
Spencer would also buy plants in Calumet City, Illinois
, Henderson, Kentucky
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
, Fort Worth, Texas
and Orange, Texas
.
Spencer was one of the nine original founders of the Midwest Research Institute
. Its first mission was finding peaceful use of ammonium nitrate He would be chairman of the Board of Trustrees from 1954 to 1957.
and grew up in Amarillo, Texas
and spent high school in Pittsburg, Kansas
where she married Kenneth Spencer on January 6, 1927. They moved to Kansas City, Missouri
in 1940.
Following the success of the Spencer Chemical Company, they formed the Spencer Foundation in 1949. When Kenneth died in 1960, she liquidated the companies selling Spencer to Gulf Oil
and then oversaw the Kenneth A. and Helen F. Spencer Foundation until her death in 1982.
The Spencer Chemical Corporation name disappeared with the new owners. The Pittsburg and Midway company continued to operate under that name under its eventual owner Chevron
although no longer mining in Kansas. That company name was abolished in 2007 when Chevron formally consolidated its mining operations under the Chevron Mining name.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
area.
He was born in Columbus, Kansas
Columbus, Kansas
Columbus is the second largest city and county seat of Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, 15 miles south-southwest of Pittsburg, Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,312.-History:...
but grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, United States. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in southeastern Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,233.-History:...
.
Spencer graduated from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1926 and went into his father's business of Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company in Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, United States. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in southeastern Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,233.-History:...
.
In 1941 the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
contacted him about operating a weapons-grade
Weapons-grade
A weapons-grade substance is one that is pure enough to be used to make a weapon or has properties that make it suitable for weapons use. Weapons-grade plutonium and uranium are the most common examples, but it may also be used to refer to chemical and biological weapons...
ammonia nitrate plant in Galena, Kansas
Galena, Kansas
Galena is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,085.-History:The city was named after the lead ore galena found here in 1877. The city was originally platted by the Galena Mining and Smelting Company and was to be known as Cornwall...
that would become the Jayhawk Ordnance Works. He would say later:
- They wanted us to build and operate a big basic chemical plant. I didn't know about operating such a plant, but they told us anyone who could operate an electric shovel, move 30 or 40 feet of overburden to get an 18-inch seam of coal, and make it pay, could operate anything.
He set up the Military Chemical Works, Inc. as a subsidiary of Pittsburg & Midway with himself as President and built the plant by 1943 with it producing 14,500 tons a month.
U.S. ordnance facilities were placed in the mid-U.S. during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Other plants to be built and owned by others included the Kansas Ordnance Plant at Parsons, Kansas
Parsons, Kansas
Parsons is a city in the northern part of Labette County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,500...
, the Sunflower Ordnance Plant
Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant
The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant was a smokeless powder and propellant manufacturing facility in northwest Johnson County, Kansas owned by the United States Government and operated under contract, primarily by Hercules Aerospace Company....
at DeSoto, Kansas, the Ozark Ordnance Plant at El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area...
.
After the war with help from J.H. Whitney & Company
J.H. Whitney & Company
J.H. Whitney & Company is a venture capital firm in the U.S., founded in 1946 by John Hay Whitney and his partner Benno Schmidt. Today the firm focuses primarily on leveraged buyouts, turnarounds, acquisitions, and recapitalizations of more mature companies particularly those it considers to be in...
he entered into a lease with an option to buy (which he did in 1951) the plant to use the ammonia nitrate into fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
under the new name of Spencer Chemical. He succeeded his father as head of the Pittsburg and Midway. It was so successful that he was able to endow a foundation by 1949.
Spencer would also buy plants in Calumet City, Illinois
Calumet City, Illinois
Calumet City is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,072 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 60409.Calumet City was founded in 1892 when the villages of Schrumville and Sobieski Park merged under the name of West Hammond, since it lies on the west side of the...
, Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
and Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
.
Spencer was one of the nine original founders of the Midwest Research Institute
Midwest Research Institute
MRIGlobal is an independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri....
. Its first mission was finding peaceful use of ammonium nitrate He would be chairman of the Board of Trustrees from 1954 to 1957.
Helen Foresman Spencer
Helen Elizabeth Foresman (November 8, 1902-February 15, 1982) was born in Joplin, MissouriJoplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
and grew up in Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
and spent high school in Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, United States. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in southeastern Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,233.-History:...
where she married Kenneth Spencer on January 6, 1927. They moved to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
in 1940.
Following the success of the Spencer Chemical Company, they formed the Spencer Foundation in 1949. When Kenneth died in 1960, she liquidated the companies selling Spencer to Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
and then oversaw the Kenneth A. and Helen F. Spencer Foundation until her death in 1982.
The Spencer Chemical Corporation name disappeared with the new owners. The Pittsburg and Midway company continued to operate under that name under its eventual owner Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
although no longer mining in Kansas. That company name was abolished in 2007 when Chevron formally consolidated its mining operations under the Chevron Mining name.
Philanthropies
- Kenneth Spencer Research Library - University of KansasUniversity of KansasThe University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
- Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of ArtSpencer Museum of ArtThe Spencer Museum of Art, or SMA, is an art museum on the campus of University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. While admission is free, donations are accepted. Also located inside the Spencer Museum of Art are the Kress Foundation Department of Art History, and the Murphy Library of Art &...
- University of Kansas - Kenneth Aldred Spencer Memorial Chapel - University of Kansas Medical Center
- Spencer Art Reference Library - Nelson Art Gallery
- Kenneth A. Spencer Chemistry Building - University of Missouri - Kansas City
- Helen Foresman Spencer Theatre for the Performing Arts - (home of the Kansas City Repertory Theatre at the University of Missouri - Kansas City
- Helen Foresman Spencer Rare Book Room Addition - Linda Hall LibraryLinda Hall LibraryThe Linda Hall Library is a privately-endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, about a "five-minute walk from Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art." It is the "largest independently funded public library of science, engineering and...
, (Kansas City, Missouri) - Spencer Auditorium - Midwest Research InstituteMidwest Research InstituteMRIGlobal is an independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri....
- Kenneth A. Spencer Laboratories Building - Midwest Research InstituteMidwest Research InstituteMRIGlobal is an independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri....
- Helen F. Spencer Center for Education - Saint Luke's Hospital (Kansas City, Missouri)Saint Luke's Hospital (Kansas City, Missouri)Saint Luke's Hospital is an tertiary care hospital located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Saint Luke's Health System.-Hospital Background:...
- Medieval Wing housing Quayle Bible Collection - Baker UniversityBaker UniversityBaker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...
- Claude MonetClaude MonetClaude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
's "Boulevard des Capucines, Paris" - Nelson Art Gallery - Edgar DegasEdgar DegasEdgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
"Repetition de Ballet" - Nelson Art Gallery