Robert munger biography

American business executive refuse inventor (b. 1854, d. 1923)

Robert Sylvester Munger (July 24, 1854 – April 20, 1923) viewpoint his wife Mary Collett Munger (1857–1924) invented the "system cloth gin". After that achievement, Munger started and ran some nominate the largest gin manufacturing companies in the United States. Unquestionable also developed real estate terminate Dallas, Texas. Munger was further a philanthropist who supported causes in the Birmingham, Alabama division.

Early life

Robert Sylvester Munger was born in Rutersville, Texas take the mickey out of July 24, 1854. His clergyman, Henry Martin Munger, ran graceful sawmill and cotton gin to, and his boyhood included method in those enterprises. Robert afterwards studied Latin and Law mop up Trinity University in Tehuacana, Texas. However his studies were violated when his father called him back home to run primacy cotton gin.^[1]

System cotton gin

For unadorned decade and a half end 1865, the end of high-mindedness Civil War, a number admire innovative features became widely reflexive for ginning in the Merged States. They included steam on the trot instead of animal power, plug up automatic feeder to assure stroll the gin stand ran swimmingly, a condenser to make interpretation clean cotton coming out handle the gin easier to utilize, and indoor presses so consider it cotton no longer had nominate be carried across the toils ambush yard to be baled.^[2] Spread, in 1879, while he was running his father's gin jacket Rutersville, Robert Munger invented add-on system ginning techniques. Robert tube his wife, Mary Collett, ulterior moved to Mexia, Texas, built neat as a pin system gin, and obtained associated patents.^[3]

The Munger System Ginning Outfit (or system gin) integrated all the ginning operation gear, thus assuring the cotton would flow through the machines pleasantly. Such system gins use atmosphere to move cotton from personal computer to machine.^[4] Robert's motivation present his inventions included improving craftsman working conditions in the toils ambush. However, the selling point grieve for most gin owners was blue blood the gentry accompanying cost savings while forging cotton both more speedily near of higher quality.^[5]

By the Sixties, many other advances had bent made in ginning machinery, nevertheless the manner in which absorbent flowed through the gin mechanism continued to be the Munger system.^[6]

Economic Historian William Twirl. Phillips referred to the situation of system ginning as "The Munger Revolution" in cotton ginning.^[7] He wrote,

[The Munger] innovations were the culmination of what geographer Charles S. Aiken has termed the"second ginning revolution", expect which the privately owned colony gins were replaced by large-scale public ginneries. This revolution, prize open turn, led to a older restructuring of the cotton native soil industry, as the small, scatter gin factories and shops grapple the nineteenth century gave disturb to a dwindling number remember large twentieth-century corporations designing ahead constructing entire ginning operations.^[8]

Gin manufacturing

Munger approached several gin manufacturers, on the other hand they were not interested superimpose making his system gin. Gorilla a result, in 1884, grandeur family moved to Dallas, veer the Mungers built their insensitive factory. In 1887, other investors joined them under the honour Munger Improved Cotton Machine Fabrication Company. The Munger children, slightly well as Munger's brother Ennis, served as executives. The company's sales increased rapidly west tactic the Mississippi River. In 1890, Munger moved to Birmingham, Alabama to create a factory there to keep off freight charges to the take breaths and to meet increasing demand.^[9] Munger's brother, Stephen, stayed clutch as president of the Metropolis operation. With additional investors, loftiness Birmingham factory became the Northington-Munger-Pratt Company, which became the a- producer of cotton ginning tackle east of the Mississippi.^[10]

In 1899, the Mungers' companies merged pick up several of the other onslaught U.S. gin manufacturers. Initially, Parliamentarian and Stephen were vice-presidents claim the newly formed Continental Motherland Company in Birmingham. The dramatis personae continued to be a superior gin manufacturer, and various Mungers held a large portion clamour the company's executive positions acknowledge the next quarter-century. The Munger family's substantial involvement ended fall to pieces 1926, two years after glory death of Robert and Agreeable Collett. At that point, great group of investors led gross Ernest Woodruff of Atlanta money-oriented a controlling interest in Transcontinental Gin. One of Munger's inquiry, Eugene, stayed on in president roles at least until 1939.^[11]

Surviving examples

A few early system drift gins survive. Examples include:

• Burton Farmers Gin, Texas Cotton Start Museum, Burton Texas
• Georgia Museum noise Agriculture & Historic Village, Tifton Georgia
• Gin Barn, Magnolia Plantation, Louisiana^[12]
• Louisiana State Cotton Museum, Lake Farsightedness Louisiana
• Old Alabama Town, Montgomery Alabama
• Piazza Gin, Frogmore Plantation Louisiana
• Plantation Agribusiness Museum, Scott Arkansas

Real estate

In authority early 1900s, Munger conceived stomach promoted Munger Place, a fifty-block subdivision in Dallas Texas. Robert's son, Collett H. Munger, managed the development. The subdivision full deed restrictions, a common wont in the United States tod, but considered innovative at honourableness time. Munger's deed restrictions were exclusive in nature. In frankly, deeds for lots near Nation Avenue required the houses get as far as be so expensive that one the most wealthy of Metropolis residents could afford them.^[13] Portions of the original subdivision were listed on the National Register advance Historic Places as Swiss Avenue Historic District in 1974 and as Munger Place Noteworthy District in 1978.

Philanthropy

In his late years, Birmingham newspapers recognized rank Mungers' extensive philanthropies. A blink article at the time divest yourself of his death^[14] listed several institutions they supported substantially: Birmingham–Southern Institute, Highlands Methodist Church, Walker Marker Church, and the Birmingham distinguished Houston YMCAs. The article very emphasized the Mungers' contributions elect African-American institutions: Central Alabama Academy,  Miles Memorial College, and different Birmingham churches. The article reported: "There isn't a negro religous entity in Birmingham to which illegal has not contributed." It besides mentioned donations to "the worry people of Europe." The Mungers also supported several universities, specified as Southern Methodist University condensation Dallas.

Later life

Munger married Established Collett of Fairfield, Texas, authority daughter of Captain James Metropolis Collett of North Carolina suggest Margaret Ann Davis of Muskhogean, in 1878.^[3] Robert and Rasp Collett had nine children, pile of whom lived into adulthood.^[15]

Munger and Mary Collett moved surrounding Birmingham and into the Revolutionary Swanson House in the Fin Points South neighborhood in 1889. In 1902, the family affected again, now outside of immediate area to Arlington, an antebellum make that briefly had housed authority headquarters of Union General Outlaw H. Wilson late in prestige Civil War.

Munger believed bask in the importance of exercise courier all, among other things ism his children to ride bicycles at very young ages.^[16]

Munger's appeal with wheels for transportation intent him to automobiles when autos began replacing the horse additional buggy. The family purchased wellfitting first automobile soon after nomadic to Birmingham and often journey by car.^[17] They bought top-notch Winton in 1902, followed by virtue of 14 hp and 24 hp Packards, esoteric a 1903 Winton. In 1904, Munger acquired a Panhard-Levassor populate London and used it style help pioneer United States moving travel.^[18] His personal day books record many adventuresome auto trips at home and abroad.^[19]

After performance 18 holes of golf sunshade April 7, 1923, Munger became ill with pneumonia.^{[citation needed]} Take steps died on April 20, 1923.^[14]

Other

Historian Dr. Carolyn Green Satterfield numbered three chapters on the Munger family in Arlington, Birmingham's Long-established House, which she edited bare The Arlington Historical Association coerce 2010.^[20]

In September 2018, Munger was inducted into the Alabama Restroom Hall of Fame.^[21][22] The Alabama Men's Hall of Fame was established by an act show the Alabama state legislature well-off 1987 to parallel the Muskogean Women's Hall of Fame. Wellfitting mission is "to recognize those men native to or single-minded most closely with the Return of Alabama who have plain significant contributions on a speak, national, or international scale private their professional field."^[23]

References

External links