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Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Sr. (October 27, 1882 – July 12, 1951) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

Ingalls was born in Huntsville, Ohio, on October 27, 1882, the son of Flora (née Bimel) and Horace Putnam Ingalls. He attended Ohio Normal (now Ohio Northern) University. He married the former Ellen Ely Gregg on April 14, 1909.

Career

He founded Ingalls Iron Works in Titusville, Birmingham, Alabama, in 1910. He also established Ingalls Shipbuilding in 1938. They became the largest privately owned steel manufacturer in the Southern United States and the largest shipyard in the Gulf Coast of the United States. In 1937, he started a shipyard in Decatur, Alabama. To accommodate the growing needs of the Second World War, it was moved to Birmingham, Alabama, then to Chickasaw, Alabama, and finally in Pascagoula, Mississippi. By the time of his death, his company was worth US$40 million.

Philanthropy

He established the Ingalls Foundation in 1943. Among other causes, since 1965, it has funded the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Death and family

He died on July 12, 1951, in Birmingham.

His son Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Jr. (1906–1968) inherited 90% of the company. He sold Ingalls Industries to Litton Industries in 1961, which was ultimately purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001. He was also a yachtsman, who owned the yacht Rhonda III.

His granddaughter, Barbara Ingalls Shook (1939-2008), was a philanthropist at the helm of the Ingalls Foundation.

Legacy

The Robert I. Ingalls Sr. Hall on the campus of Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, is named in his honor. It was built in 1957, and it is home to the McWhorter School of Pharmacy.

References

1. A History of Birmingham and Its Environs. Vol. 2. The Lewis Publishing Company. 1920. pp. 171–172. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via Google Books.
2. Miles, Myrtle (April 15, 1909). "News Of The Day In Society World". The Birmingham Age-Herald. p. 7. Retrieved April 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. History of Alabama and Her People. Vol. 2. The American Historical Society Inc. 1927. pp. 780–781. Retrieved April 26, 2023 – via Google Books.
4. ^ Business & Finance: Family Feud, Time, October 06, 1952
5. ^ Decatur Parks and Recreation
6. Northrop Grumman proposes shipyard name change, WLOX, November 24, 2010]
7. ^ Biloxi Historical Society
8. University of South Alabama picture
9. ^ philanthropist Barbara Ingalls Shook dies at 69, The Birmingham News, September 27, 2008
10. Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching
11. "R. I. Ingalls Sr., 69, An Industrialist". The New York Times. July 13, 1951. p. 21. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
12. ^ Ezra Bowen, Floating Fantasy, Sports Illustrated, May 06, 1957
13. Barbara Ingalls Shook, Aspen Times, October 1, 2008
14. ^ Samford University: Robert I. Ingalls Sr. Hall
15. Google Map
16. ^ William Nunnelley, Samford To Mark Completion of $5.3 Million Ingalls Hall, Russell Hall Reconstruction Project, 2004-05-18

• 1882 births
• 1951 deaths
• Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century American philanthropists