N. K. Fairbank
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Kellogg "N.K." Fairbank (1829-1903) was a Chicago
industrialist whose company, the N.K. Fairbank Co., manufactured soap as well as animal and baking products in conjunction with the great meat packing
houses in northern Illinois
. The company had factories in Chicago
, St. Louis, Montreal
and Louisiana
and had international offices in the United Kingdom
and Germany
. Gold Dust Washing Powder
(featuring the iconic Gold Dust Twins
and distributed by Lever Brothers
), was one of the most successful cleansing product lines in twentieth century North America. Another original Fairbank creation, Fairy Soap, was purchased by Procter & Gamble
and remains one of the best-known European household brands.
in downtown Chicago; now some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Despite unanimously winning several court cases Fairbank, the Pinkertons, and the Chicago Police were unable to remove the squatter and Chicago legend, George Streeter
, from the property for 28 years. As a testament to the long running feud a street running near the outside (western) edge of Streeterville is named Fairbanks Court.
, a founder of the Commercial Club of Chicago
, a senior officer and an early major trader at the Chicago Board of Trade
, one of the original trustees of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
, the first Commodore of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club
, and as a director of numerous corporations between 1880 and 1903.
Fairbank, Arizona
, now a ghost town, was named for him because of his role in financing both the Grand Central Mining Company and the railroad in nearby Tombstone, Arizona
(famous site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
).
of England who arrived in Massachusetts in 1633. Settling in Dedham, Massachusetts
, Jonathan built Fairbanks House, the oldest surviving wood frame building in America.
, 1st Lord of Livingston Manor
. Livingston Manor was ceded to Livingston in 1686 by New York
Governor Thomas Dongan
and confirmed by King James II
and King George I
, it was the largest of the American noble manors. Unlike most manor lords the Livingstons supported democracy and independence in the America and were signors of the Declaration of Independence
and the United States Constitution
.
Lord Robert Livingston
was a descendant of the Lords and Earls Livingston of Linlithgow and Callendar in Scotland
. The family seat was Callendar House
in Falkirk
, now a museum.
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...
industrialist whose company, the N.K. Fairbank Co., manufactured soap as well as animal and baking products in conjunction with the great meat packing
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
houses in northern 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,...
. The company had factories in 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...
, St. Louis, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and had international offices in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Gold Dust Washing Powder
Gold dust washing powder
Fairbank's Gold Dust Washing Products was a line of all-purpose cleaning agents researched and developed in the late 1880s by the Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank Soap Manufacturing Company. First introduced to the American consumer in 1889, Gold Dust Washing Powder quickly became a success due in large...
(featuring the iconic Gold Dust Twins
Gold Dust Twins
The Gold Dust Twins originated as the mascots for Fairbank's Gold Dust Washing Powder products as early as 1892. It has seen popular use as a moniker in several instances since...
and distributed by Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever . The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success...
), was one of the most successful cleansing product lines in twentieth century North America. Another original Fairbank creation, Fairy Soap, was purchased by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
and remains one of the best-known European household brands.
Streeterville
Fairbank was the original owner of the land that now comprises StreetervilleStreeterville
Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River in Cook County...
in downtown Chicago; now some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Despite unanimously winning several court cases Fairbank, the Pinkertons, and the Chicago Police were unable to remove the squatter and Chicago legend, George Streeter
George Streeter
George Wellington "Cap" Streeter was born near the town of Flint, Michigan. From 1886 to 1921 Streeter spun lies, forged legal documents and used violence to wrest of Lake Michigan shoreline away from its rightful owners...
, from the property for 28 years. As a testament to the long running feud a street running near the outside (western) edge of Streeterville is named Fairbanks Court.
Other activities
Fairbank served as: president of The University of Chicago board of trustees, a founder and president of The Chicago ClubChicago Club
The Chicago Club, founded in 1869, is a private social club located in downtown Chicago. Its membership has included many of Chicago's most prominent businessmen, politicians, and families.-Press coverage:...
, a founder of the Commercial Club of Chicago
Commercial Club of Chicago
The Commercial Club of Chicago is an anti-labor club resulted from the 1907 merger of two predecessor Chicago clubs: the Merchants Club and the Commercial Club . Its most active members included George Pullman, Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, George Armour, Frederic Delano, Sewell Avery, Rufus...
, a senior officer and an early major trader at the Chicago Board of Trade
Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade , established in 1848, is the world's oldest futures and options exchange. More than 50 different options and futures contracts are traded by over 3,600 CBOT members through open outcry and eTrading. Volumes at the exchange in 2003 were a record breaking 454 million...
, one of the original trustees of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, the first Commodore of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Lake Geneva Yacht Club, is a yacht club in Fontana-on-Geneva Lake, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1874, it is one of the oldest and most internationally renowned Inland Lake Yachting Association Clubs...
, and as a director of numerous corporations between 1880 and 1903.
Fairbank, Arizona
Fairbank, Arizona
Fairbank is a ghost town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona, near the San Pedro River. First settled in 1881 in what was then known as the Arizona Territory, Fairbank, the closest rail stop to nearby Tombstone, was an important location in developing Arizona...
, now a ghost town, was named for him because of his role in financing both the Grand Central Mining Company and the railroad in nearby Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
(famous site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
).
The Fairbank family in America
N.K. Fairbank was a descendent of Jonathan FairbanksJonathan Fairbanks
Jonathan Fairbanks was an American colonist born in Heptonstall, Halifax, Yorkshire, England who immigrated to New England in 1633...
of England who arrived in Massachusetts in 1633. Settling in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
, Jonathan built Fairbanks House, the oldest surviving wood frame building in America.
The Livingstons
Fairbank married Helen Livingston Graham in New York on April 24, 1866. Livingston Graham’s original American ancestor was Robert LivingstonRobert Livingston the Elder
Robert Livingston the Elder was a New York colonial official, and first lord of Livingston Manor. He married Alida Schuyler in 1679. He was the father of nine children, including Philip, Robert and Gilbert...
, 1st Lord of Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor
This article contains information related to Livingston Manor, the 18th century New York estate. Livingston Manor, New York is a town in Sullivan County...
. Livingston Manor was ceded to Livingston in 1686 by New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
Governor Thomas Dongan
Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick
Thomas Donegan, 2nd Earl of Limerick was a member of Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and governor of the Province of New York...
and confirmed by King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and King George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, it was the largest of the American noble manors. Unlike most manor lords the Livingstons supported democracy and independence in the America and were signors of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Lord Robert Livingston
Robert Livingston the Elder
Robert Livingston the Elder was a New York colonial official, and first lord of Livingston Manor. He married Alida Schuyler in 1679. He was the father of nine children, including Philip, Robert and Gilbert...
was a descendant of the Lords and Earls Livingston of Linlithgow and Callendar in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The family seat was Callendar House
Callendar House
Callendar House is a mansion set within the grounds of Callendar Park in Falkirk, central Scotland. Its present form, in the style of a French Renaissance château, dates from the 19th century, although at its core is a 14th-century tower house...
in Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
, now a museum.
External links
- Fairbank-Graham Family Papers at the Newberry Library