Representative Henry Frick

Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, and later became chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company. Frick’s management of Carnegie Steel was characterized by vehement opposition to unions, a trait reflected most notably by his violent suppression of the Homestead Strike. In the final years of his career as an industrialist, he was instrumental in the founding of U.S. Steel, which became the world’s largest steel manufacturer.

In his life outside of the steel industry, Frick was a prominent investor who had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. As a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, thereby leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood.

After he retired from business, Frick oversaw the construction of the Frick Mansion in Manhattan (now designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark). He bequeathed his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the Frick Collection art museum.