Hernand Behn’s dream was to build the first worldwide system of interconnected telephone lines.

Bowes made up for his lack of formal education with savvy salesmanship

Albert Butz invented the thermostat, which created a whole new industry.

Andrew Carnegie’s steel company produced more metal than all of Great Britain in 1900.

Under Hugh Chisholm’s leadership, International Paper controlled 60 percent of the American newsprint market.

DuPont was an early “transnational” business relying on knowledge, equipment and capital raised in France.

Helen Greiner’s love of robots started with R2D2 in Star Wars.

Emerson sold the first electric fans in America, invented by two orphans from Scotland.

John Pitcairn Jr. dropped out of school at age 14 and went on to create an industrial giant, PPG Industries.

Elihu Thomson was a multifaceted scientist, inventor and engineer who held nearly 700 patents.

The New York Times credited Weyerhäuser’s incredible success to “German regularity, caution, thrift, industry and perseverance.”