Thomas W. Lawson (businessman)
Encyclopedia
Thomas William Lawson was an American businessman and author
. A highly controversial Boston stock promoter, he is known for both his efforts to promote reforms in the stock markets and the fortune he amassed for himself through highly dubious stock manipulations.
The Scituate, Massachusetts
Historical Society proclaimed 2007 the "Year of Thomas W. Lawson" in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of Lawson's birth.
. Lawson ran away from home to become a clerk in a Boston bank, and soon began speculating in stocks. He was a principal mover in the promotion of companies trying to establish the small town of Grand Rivers, Kentucky
as a major steel-producing city. Lawson specialized in shares of copper-mining companies, which were then a staple of the Boston stock market, and became a multimillionaire during the copper boom of the late 1890s. He built the lavish estate called Dreamwold in Scituate, Massachusetts
. The site's most spectacular building is known locally as the Lawson Tower
, also called Grampy's Tower by children, a water tower with a shingled outer shell and observatory which has spectacular views of the area from its observation deck.
In 1899, he joined Henry H. Rogers
and William Rockefeller
in forming Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, a company that combined several copper
mining companies, mostly in Butte, Montana
, and tried to dominate the copper market. Amalgamated Copper was the subject of much criticism then and for years afterward. In the building of this great trust, some of the most ruthless strokes in modern business history were dealt: the $38,000,000 "watering"
of the stock of the first corporation, its subsequent manipulation, the seizure of the copper property of the Butte & Boston Consolidated Mining Company, the using of the latter as a weapon against the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company, the guerrilla warfare
against certain private interests, and the wrecking of the Globe Bank of Boston.
Amalgamated later became Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1915. However, Lawson later broke with the financial backers of Amalgamated, and became an advocate for financial reform.
Lawson was an independent candidate for the United States Senate
in 1918
. He finished a distant third with 5.26%.
Lawson authored numerous books, the most famous of which was Frenzied Finance: the Crime of Amalgamated, his controversial account of the formation of the Amalgamated Copper Company.
He is also famous for his namesake ship, the Thomas W. Lawson
, the only seven-masted schooner ever built. As an odd coincidence, Lawson wrote the novel Friday the Thirteenth in which a broker picks that day on which to bring down Wall Street; the schooner Thomas W. Lawson was also wrecked on Friday 13th, 1907.
Although Thomas Lawson was once a multimillionaire, he died poor.
' 1905 novel The Deluge.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. A highly controversial Boston stock promoter, he is known for both his efforts to promote reforms in the stock markets and the fortune he amassed for himself through highly dubious stock manipulations.
The Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....
Historical Society proclaimed 2007 the "Year of Thomas W. Lawson" in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of Lawson's birth.
Biography
Thomas William Lawson was born February 26, 1857 at Charlestown, MassachusettsCharlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
. Lawson ran away from home to become a clerk in a Boston bank, and soon began speculating in stocks. He was a principal mover in the promotion of companies trying to establish the small town of Grand Rivers, Kentucky
Grand Rivers, Kentucky
Grand Rivers is a city in Livingston County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 343 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Grand Rivers is located at ....
as a major steel-producing city. Lawson specialized in shares of copper-mining companies, which were then a staple of the Boston stock market, and became a multimillionaire during the copper boom of the late 1890s. He built the lavish estate called Dreamwold in Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....
. The site's most spectacular building is known locally as the Lawson Tower
Lawson Tower
Lawson Tower is an historic tower built in the style of a European castle turret. It is located off First Parish Road in Scituate Center, Massachusetts, United States....
, also called Grampy's Tower by children, a water tower with a shingled outer shell and observatory which has spectacular views of the area from its observation deck.
In 1899, he joined 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,...
in forming Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, a company that combined several copper
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 companies, mostly in 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...
, and tried to dominate the copper market. Amalgamated Copper was the subject of much criticism then and for years afterward. In the building of this great trust, some of the most ruthless strokes in modern business history were dealt: the $38,000,000 "watering"
Watered stock
Watered stock is an asset with an artificially-inflated value. The term is most commonly used to refer to a form of securities fraud common under older corporate laws that placed a heavy emphasis upon the par value of stock.- Origin of term :...
of the stock of the first corporation, its subsequent manipulation, the seizure of the copper property of the Butte & Boston Consolidated Mining Company, the using of the latter as a weapon against the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company, the guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
against certain private interests, and the wrecking of the Globe Bank of Boston.
Amalgamated later became Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1915. However, Lawson later broke with the financial backers of Amalgamated, and became an advocate for financial reform.
Lawson was an independent candidate for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1918
United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1918
The United States Senate election of 1918 in Massachusetts was held on November 5, 1918 with Democrat David I. Walsh defeating incumbent John W. Weeks.-Democratic:...
. He finished a distant third with 5.26%.
Lawson authored numerous books, the most famous of which was Frenzied Finance: the Crime of Amalgamated, his controversial account of the formation of the Amalgamated Copper Company.
He is also famous for his namesake ship, the Thomas W. Lawson
Thomas W. Lawson (ship)
The Thomas W. Lawson was a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner originally planned for the Pacific trade, but then used primarily to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. Built in 1902, the ship holds the distinction of being the largest schooner and the largest pure sailing...
, the only seven-masted schooner ever built. As an odd coincidence, Lawson wrote the novel Friday the Thirteenth in which a broker picks that day on which to bring down Wall Street; the schooner Thomas W. Lawson was also wrecked on Friday 13th, 1907.
Although Thomas Lawson was once a multimillionaire, he died poor.
Books by Thomas Lawson
- The Krank: His Language and What it Means (1888) a glossary of baseball expressions
- History of the Republican Party
- Lawson History of the America's CupAmerica's CupThe America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
(1902), with Winfield M. Thompson - Frenzied Finance, the Crime of Amalgamated (1906)
- Friday the Thirteenth (1907)
- The Remedy (1912)
- The High Cost of Living (1913)
- The Leak (1919)
Lawson in fiction
Thomas Lawson is believed to be the inspiration for the protagonist of David Graham PhillipsDavid Graham Phillips
David Graham Phillips was an American journalist of the muckraker tradition and novelist.-Early life and career:Phillips was born in Madison, Indiana...
' 1905 novel The Deluge.