The builders of American industrial capacity — steel, power, communications, aviation, automobiles and mass-market manufacturing.
Arriving in America at 13, Carnegie rose from cotton-mill work to become the dominant force in American steel. Carnegie Steel helped supply the material of industrial expansion; its 1901 sale helped create U.S. Steel. He later gave away most of his fortune, funding thousands of public libraries and major educational and philanthropic institutions.
“The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Bell received the fundamental U.S. telephone patent in 1876 and helped turn voice communication over wires into a practical commercial system. The Bell Telephone enterprise grew into the network that ultimately became AT&T, helping transform American business, emergency communication and everyday social life.
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”
Tesla’s alternating-current system made long-distance electrical transmission practical and helped establish the power architecture used across the United States. His induction motor and work on the Niagara Falls generating system were central to the spread of electric power into factories, cities and homes.
“The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.”
Astor arrived in America in the 1780s and built a vast fortune first through the fur trade and later through Manhattan real estate. His American Fur Company became a dominant commercial force, while his long-term land investments made him one of the wealthiest figures in early American business.
“A man who has a million dollars is as well off as if he were rich.”
Slater brought detailed knowledge of British textile machinery to the United States and helped establish a successful water-powered cotton-spinning mill in Rhode Island. His work accelerated the mechanization of American textile production and became a landmark in the country’s early Industrial Revolution.
“Whatever you do, do it well and thoroughly, and it will tell in the end.”
Arriving in New York as a child, Sarnoff rose from telegraph work to lead RCA for decades. He helped build NBC into a national radio network, pushed the commercialization of television and helped shape the structure of American broadcasting and recorded entertainment.
“Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work.”
After leaving revolutionary Russia, Sikorsky rebuilt his aviation career in the United States. His VS-300 demonstrated the main-rotor and tail-rotor configuration that became standard for helicopters, helping establish rotary-wing aircraft for rescue, transport, military and presidential use.
“The work of the individual still remains the spark that moves mankind forward.”
Boeing founded an aircraft company in Seattle in 1916 that became one of the central manufacturers of American military and commercial aviation. Its wartime bombers and later jetliners helped make large-scale air travel and aerospace manufacturing major parts of the U.S. economy.
“We are all working together to a common end.”
Ford did not invent the automobile, but the Model T and moving assembly line radically lowered its cost and brought car ownership within reach of ordinary Americans. His manufacturing methods influenced industries far beyond automobiles and helped reshape American geography, labor and consumer life.
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Strauss came to San Francisco during the Gold Rush and, with tailor Jacob Davis, patented riveted work pants in 1873. The durable garment evolved into blue jeans, one of the most recognizable American products and a global symbol that moved from workwear into mainstream culture.
“The greatest pleasure a man can know is to do a good deed in secret and have it found out by accident.”