Schwab, Charles M

Schwab, Charles M(ichael)

(born Feb. 18, 1862, Williamsburg, Pa., U.S.—died Sept. 18, 1939, New York, N.Y.) U.S. entrepreneur and steel-industry pioneer. He joined Andrew Carnegie's steelworks at Braddock, Pa., as a labourer and rose swiftly in the Carnegie empire. In 1892 Carnegie delegated to Schwab the task of returning the plant in Homestead, Pa., to normal production after the bloody Homestead Strike. His success in improving labour relations and increasing production led to his appointment as president of Carnegie Steel Co. in 1897 at the age of 35. Schwab proposed the merger of the competing steel companies that would create the U.S. Steel Corp., and he became its first president in 1901. He resigned in 1903 to devote himself to the Bethlehem Steel Corp., which he built into one of the nation's largest steel producers of its time.