Eaton, Cyrus S

Eaton, Cyrus S(tephen)

(born Dec. 27, 1883, Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Can.—died May 9, 1979, near Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.) U.S.-Canadian industrialist and philanthropist. Entering business in 1907, he built several electric-power plants in western Canada and soon diversified into other utilities, banking, and steel in the U.S. In 1930 he merged several steel companies to form Republic Steel, the third-largest U.S. steel company. He lost most of his fortune in the Great Depression but subsequently made another one. An advocate of nuclear disarmament and improved Soviet-U.S. relations, he helped inaugurate the Pugwash Conferences in 1957.