Gustavus Franklin Swift

<p>Gustavus Franklin Swift, Sr. (June 24, 1839 – March 29, 1903) was an American business executive. He founded a <a href="/facts/Meat_packing_industry/1TDR6UsS">meat-packing</a> empire in the <a href="/facts/Midwest/VanHjkw2">Midwest</a> during the late 19th century, over which he presided until his death. He is credited with the development of the first practical ice-cooled <a href="/facts/Railroad_car/4XBU36LV">railroad car</a>, which allowed his company to ship dressed meats to all parts of the country and abroad, ushering in the "era of cheap beef." Swift pioneered the use of <a href="/facts/Animal/4b8J33nd">animal</a> by-products for the manufacture of soap, glue, <a href="/facts/Fertilizer/ysh3r6NJ">fertilizer</a>, various types of sundries, and even medical products.
</p><p>Swift donated large sums of money to such institutions as the <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago/z6zRMUmV">University of Chicago</a>, the <a href="/facts/Methodist_Episcopal_Church/w6eJtrW0">Methodist Episcopal Church</a>, and <a href="/facts/YMCA/rfcxcX60">YMCA</a>. He established <a href="/facts/Northwestern_University/4dunJHBf">Northwestern University</a>'s "School of Oratory" in memory of his daughter, Annie May Swift, who died while a student there. When he died in 1903, his company was valued at between <a href="/facts/US$/naEEDUhC">US$</a>125 million and $135 million, and had a workforce of more than 21,000. "The House of Swift" slaughtered as many as two million cattle, four million hogs, and two million sheep a year. Three years after his death, the value of the company's capital stock topped $250 million. He and his family are interred in a <a href="/facts/Mausoleum/LMhcom0y">mausoleum</a> in Mount Hope Cemetery in <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a>.
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Gustavus Franklin Swift