Aluminum Company of Canada. Tribute to James B. Duke, 1968
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Summary
- Creator:
- Alcan Aluminum Corporation
- Abstract:
- The Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) was an aluminum mining and manufacturing company originally founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company. It is now part of Rio Tinto, headquartered in Montreal. James Buchanan Duke (1856-1925) was an American industrialist in tobacco and hydroelectric power based in Durham, N.C. and New York, N.Y. Collection consists of two photograph albums presented by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) to Duke University that commemorate James B. Duke's trips to the Saguenay (1915) and Quebec (1925) regions of Canada and relate to Duke's involvement in the development of hydroelectric power and aluminum smelting plants there. The collection also includes a history of Duke's activities in the Saguenay region written by T.L. Brock (Assistant to the President at Alcan), along with some pamphlets about Alcan and the city of Arvida. Individuals depicted in the photographs include Andrew Mellon, Arthur Vining Davis, Richard B. Mellon, and William States Lee (J.B. Duke's hydroelectric engineer, designer of the Isle-Maligne and Beauharnois power stations). Companies referenced include Aluminum Company of America, Duke-Price Power Company, and Quebec Development Company.
- Extent:
- 1.5 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.12029
Background
- Scope and content:
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Collection consists of two photograph albums presented by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) to Duke University that commemorate James B. Duke's trips to the Saguenay (1915) and Quebec (1925) regions of Canada and relate to Duke's involvement in the development of hydroelectric power and aluminum smelting plants there. The collection also includes a history of Duke's activities in the Saguenay region written by T.L. Brock (Assistant to the President at Alcan), along with some pamphlets about Alcan and the city of Arvida. Individuals depicted in the photographs include Andrew Mellon, Arthur Vining Davis, Richard B. Mellon, and William States Lee (J.B. Duke's hydroelectric engineer, designer of the Isle-Maligne and Beauharnois power stations). Companies referenced include Aluminum Company of America, Duke-Price Power Company, and Quebec Development Company..
- Biographical / historical:
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James Buchanan Duke (1856-1925) was an American industrialist in tobacco and hydroelectric power. Duke was born near Durham, N.C. He and his brother Benjamin inherited a tobacco company that formed the American Tobacco Company in 1890. Antitrust litigation forced the company to split in 1906 into four smaller companies: Liggett & Myers, P. Lorillard, R.J. Reynolds, and American Tobacco Company. Around 1900, Duke formed the American Development Company which established the Catawba Power Company in 1904 and the Southern Power Company in 1905. Southern Power renamed as Duke Power in 1924 and merged with PanEnergy in 1997 to form Duke Energy. Duke died in New York in 1925 was interred in Duke University Memorial Chapel in Durham, N.C.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Buchanan_Duke
Charles Martin Hull (1863-1914) was a co-discoverer of a process for smelting aluminum from bauxite ore. He established the Pittsburgh Reduction Company in Pittsburgh in 1888, which expanded to plants in New Kensington, Pa. and Niagara Falls. Pittsburgh Reduction renamed as Aluminum Company of America in 1907. In 1900 the company established a hydroelectric and smelting plant at Shawinigan Falls in Quebec. In 1902 the plant was named the Northern Aluminum Company Limited, which renamed as Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcan
In 1912 James B. Duke traveled to the Pacific Northwest to inspect sites for developing hydroelectric power plants. The Quebec Development Company Limited was established in 1913, with Duke as majority shareholder, acquired water-power rights along the Saguenay River. The Price Brothers Limited, headed by Sir William Price (1867-1924) controlled much of the land access and timber rights in the area. Price worked with the local officials to secure necessary permits and in 1923 a partnership, the Price-Duke Power Company, was formed. Price-Duke merged with Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925 and was bought out by Alcan's parent, the Aluminum Company of America, in 1926.
Source: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/price_william_15E.html
- Acquisition information:
- The Aluminum Company of Canada. Tribute to James B. Duke was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from the Aluminum Company of Canada, Ltd. in 1968.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Richard Collier, Oct. 2022.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Aluminum Company of Canada. Tribute to James B. Duke, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1m73d